fester

Related topics: Illness & disability

fes·ter /ˈfestə $ -ər/ verb [intransitiveI]

1 INCREASE IN ACTIVITY, FEELINGS ETCUNPLEASANTif an unpleasant feeling or problem festers, it gets worse because it has not been dealt with 〔不快的感觉或问题〕加剧，恶化

The dispute can be traced back to resentments which have festered for centuries.

这一争端可以追溯到积累了好几个世纪的仇怨。

2 MIILLNESS/DISEASEif a wound festers, it becomes infected 〔伤口〕溃烂，化脓

festering sores

溃烂的疮

3. DECAYif rubbish or dirty objects fester, they decay and smell bad 〔垃圾等〕腐烂发臭

Examples from the Corpus

fester• Deep in the interstices of daily life, no doubt, frustrations gnawed at him and resentments festered.• Our eyes joined across the metres of festering carpet.• The insider-trading case also revisits a long festering controversy.• Gone too are sources of social difficulty, human reminders of festering disagreements and failed love affairs.• The school toilet was a festering, diseased shed at the ravine's edge.• Disputes between environmentalists and loggers have been festering for decades.• The animal parts were allowed to fester in the hot sun.• A festering inflammation on his foot kept him from joining the Capuchin order.• It was clear to everyone that it would only aggravate the festering wound.

Origin fester

(1300-1400) Old French festre “sore hole in flesh”, from Latin fistula

fes·ter verb

Chinese

Syllable

Corpus