festering
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fes·ter
(fĕs′tər)v. fes·tered, fes·ter·ing, fes·ters
v. intr.
1. To generate pus; suppurate.
2. To form an ulcer.
3. To undergo decay; rot.
4.
a. To be or become an increasing source of irritation or poisoning; rankle: bitterness that festered and grew.
b. To be subject to or exist in a condition of decline: allowed the once beautiful park to fester.
v. tr.
To infect, inflame, or corrupt.
n.
A small festering sore or ulcer; a pustule.
[Middle English festren, from festre, fistula, from Old French, from Latin fistula; see fistula.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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| Noun | 1. | festering - (medicine) the formation of morbific matter in an abscess or a vesicle and the discharge of pus medical specialty, medicine - the branches of medical science that deal with nonsurgical techniques bodily function, bodily process, body process, activity - an organic process that takes place in the body; "respiratory activity" |
| 2. | festering - a fluid product of inflammation gleet - a thin morbid discharge as from a wound or especially chronic gonorrhea |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
festering
adjective
1. venomous, vicious, smouldering, virulent, black-hearted recrimination and festering resentment
2. septic, infected, poisonous, inflamed, pussy, suppurating, ulcerated, purulent, maturating, gathering afflicted by festering sores
3. rotting, decaying, decomposing, putrefying The cobbles were littered with festering garbage
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002