indulge

verb

in-ˈdəlj How to pronounce indulge (audio)
Definition of indulgenext
1
as in to gratify
to give in to (a desire) the grandparents indulged the child's wishes to an extent that they never did with their own children

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to surrender
to give (oneself) over to something especially unrestrainedly conventioneers who were obviously eager to indulge themselves in all of the vices that Las Vegas might offer

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to spoil
to treat with great or excessive care you indulge those grandkids in ways you never did with your own kids

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How does the verb indulge contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of indulge are baby, humor, mollycoddle, pamper, and spoil. While all these words mean "to show undue favor to a person's desires and feelings," indulge implies excessive compliance and weakness in gratifying another's or one's own desires.

indulged myself with food at the slightest excuse

Where would baby be a reasonable alternative to indulge?

While in some cases nearly identical to indulge, baby suggests excessive care, attention, or solicitude.

babying students by grading too easily

When could humor be used to replace indulge?

The words humor and indulge can be used in similar contexts, but humor stresses a yielding to a person's moods or whims.

humored him by letting him tell the story

When would mollycoddle be a good substitute for indulge?

While the synonyms mollycoddle and indulge are close in meaning, mollycoddle suggests an excessive degree of care and attention to another's health or welfare.

refused to mollycoddle her malingering son

When is it sensible to use pamper instead of indulge?

The words pamper and indulge are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, pamper implies inordinate gratification of desire for luxury and comfort with consequent enervating effect.

pampered by the amenities of modern living

When can spoil be used instead of indulge?

In some situations, the words spoil and indulge are roughly equivalent. However, spoil stresses the injurious effects on character by indulging or pampering.

foolish parents spoil their children

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of indulge By indulging his endless, self-destructive reserves of contempt, Doug chances upon a truth, not unlike what Oliver Stone did with JFK. —Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 31 Jan. 2026 Florida won’t have enough money to indulge political whims, which takes many forms. —Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 31 Jan. 2026 The Animal Collective member’s first solo album is a personal, psychedelic trip indulging his fascination with the hurdy-gurdy. —Zach Schonfeld, Pitchfork, 30 Jan. 2026 Moyes, for his part, was happy to indulge Paqueta’s maverick tendencies, given his ability to change games. —Roshane Thomas, New York Times, 30 Jan. 2026 See All Example Sentences for indulge
Recent Examples of Synonyms for indulge
  1. gratify
  2. surrender
  3. spoil
  4. please
  5. abandon
  6. pamper
  7. humor
  8. satisfy
Verb
  • And that is gratifying after two episodes of somewhat dull table-setting.
    — Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 29 Jan. 2026
  • Florsheim said that while he would have been gratified with a not guilty verdict, the result would have just applied to Shorewood.
    — Caitlin Looby, jsonline.com, 28 Jan. 2026
Definition of gratify
Verb
  • Concerned about the safety of two children in the home, Aljorna and Sosa-Celis surrendered.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 14 Feb. 2026
  • Arizona recently surrendered about a third of its allotted supply of the river through both mandatory and compensated voluntary cuts to keep Lake Mead from going dry.
    — N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA Today, 13 Feb. 2026
Definition of surrender
Verb
  • That made kid gloves the perfect choice for a servant handling fine silverware, where even a fingerprint could spoil the dinner presentation.
    — Scott Neuman, NPR, 4 Feb. 2026
  • The Clippers tried to spoil the party, but Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets rode the good vibes of his return across the finish line.
    — Oc Register, Oc Register, 31 Jan. 2026
Definition of spoil
Verb
  • And no matter how formal or casual the gathering, every host is always looking for an easy, crowd-pleasing appetizer to start the party.
    — Krissy Tiglias, Southern Living, 7 Feb. 2026
  • YouTubers try to make videos that please the YouTube algorithm.
    — Bill Chappell, NPR, 7 Feb. 2026
Definition of please
Verb
  • One is that OpenAI’s board has apparently abandoned its mission of safety.
    — Alnoor Ebrahim, The Conversation, 13 Feb. 2026
  • The tech mogul, who helped found OpenAI, sued Altman and the company in 2024, accusing them of abandoning the firm’s founding values and manipulating him into investing in the ChatGPT maker.
    — Julia Shapero, The Hill, 13 Feb. 2026
Definition of abandon
Verb
  • One way to do so is to pamper that person as much as possible.
    — Metro Creative Services, Boston Herald, 11 Feb. 2026
  • Your dinner-party guests will soon be pampered with all things angels, roses, and the sort of preppy-chic ribbons that not only grace the hair of Robbie’s character but have also been pivotal in her IRL press-tour ensembles as of late.
    — Stacia Datskovska, Footwear News, 10 Feb. 2026
Definition of pamper
Verb
  • This gulf has long been a source of misunderstandings, superiority complexes and also humor.
    — Kim Hjelmgaard, USA Today, 26 Nov. 2025
  • Even House Speaker Mike Johnson, who otherwise has humored Trump at every turn, has expressed revulsion at the idea of a pardon.
    — Robin Abcarian, Mercury News, 29 Oct. 2025
Definition of humor
Verb
  • The marketing department came up with a tale to satisfy their curiosity.
    — Sal Pizarro, Mercury News, 10 Feb. 2026
  • There's no way to satisfy all of us with all of our ideas.
    — Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 10 Feb. 2026
Definition of satisfy

Browse Nearby Words

inducts
indulge
indulged
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Cite this Entry

“Indulge.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/indulge. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on indulge

Nglish: Translation of indulge for Spanish Speakers

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