Fester \Fes"ter\, n. [OF. festre, L. fistula a sort of ulcer. Cf. {Fistula}.] 1. A small sore which becomes inflamed and discharges corrupt matter; a pustule.
2. A festering or rankling.
The fester of the chain their necks. --I. Taylor.
Fester \Fes"ter\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Festered}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Festering}.] [OE. festern, fr. fester, n.; or fr. OF. festrir, fr. festre, n. See {Fester}, n.] 1. To generate pus; to become imflamed and suppurate; as, a sore or a wound festers.
Wounds immedicable Rankle, and fester, and gangrene. --Milton.
Unkindness may give a wound that shall bleed and smart, but it is treachery that makes it fester. --South.
Hatred . . . festered in the hearts of the children of the soil. --Macaulay.
2. To be inflamed; to grow virulent, or malignant; to grow in intensity; to rankle.
Fester \Fes`ter\, v. t. To cause to fester or rankle.
For which I burnt in inward, swelt'ring hate, And festered ranking malice in my breast. --Marston.
At the end of the inspection, the department announced that the airlines weren't unsafe, but said the labor-management hostility at Eastern was so intense that, if left to fester, it could jeopardize safety.
To allow the politically divisive Tower defeat to fester over the weekend _ and to be churned over on Sunday television talk shows and in newspaper columns _ would have not been helpful to the president.
Internal problems continued to fester at Praxis Biologics Inc. yesterday as five of six board members resigned.
Therefore, to blame U.S. and British regulators for "allowing" the problem to fester is naive.
Financial supervision failed in the 1980s because regulators let problems fester.
And yet the king is trapped: If he goes too slowly, social discontent will fester; if he goes too fast, he will threaten the privileged people who are his most loyal constituents.
Mr Aylwin argued that the law was unworkable without secret trials. The human rights issue, which has dogged civilian-military relations since the handover to democracy in 1990, is set to continue to fester.
That means either letting the situation fester, which most U.S. analysts consider dangerous, or trying another approach.
Unlike in the US, where the SEC proposed rigorous and detailed new disclosure rules three months ago, the issue will be left to fester for many another day. And fester it certainly will.
Unlike in the US, where the SEC proposed rigorous and detailed new disclosure rules three months ago, the issue will be left to fester for many another day. And fester it certainly will.
Chicago's new governing structure may lead to unprecedented parent power, but the basic problems still fester: a 45 percent dropout rate and below-average standardized test scores.