festered

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The “ignominy” of missing action, we are told, remained a “badge of shame” that festered for the rest of his life, “driving him to seek reckless vindication” in confrontations with other men of his class.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 4, 2026

No amount of martyrdom can save his legacy from succumbing to the rot he festered.

From Salon • Sep. 21, 2025

McCartney said confusion over the break-up had festered because the band's new manager Allen Klein - with whom he refused to align - said he had needed time to tie up some financial loose ends.

From BBC • Dec. 2, 2024

“We’ve been grinding hard, but it’s just a disappointing factor that others waited too long to do something about it, you know? That’s why it’s festered into this,” Hernandez said.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 19, 2024

And with that, he winked, an act that turned the sandwich I’d had the night before into a revolting slime that churned and festered in my stomach.

From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall