indulge

Definition of indulgenext

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 While bees love to indulge by eating these ornamental onions, humans should not eat them. Patricia S York, Southern Living, 29 Apr. 2026 This is a hotel with romance and celebration in mind, whether that means marking a once-in-a-lifetime occasion or indulging a lifelong love of history, art, and design. Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 28 Apr. 2026 Conservative judges, in particular, continue to indulge presidential power at the expense of Congress. Gregg Nunziata, The Atlantic, 27 Apr. 2026 Perhaps the latter must be indulged a bit to build a platform for the former—forests sometimes need to burn in order to thrive. Jon Allsop, New Yorker, 24 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for indulge
Recent Examples of Synonyms for indulge
Verb
  • That lends Gray’s ninth and arguably best film a gratifying full-circle symmetry.
    David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 16 May 2026
  • Choi’s been gratified, too, by the reception the play has received on this tour.
    David L. Coddon, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 May 2026
Verb
  • No one ate up more innings than Klein, who struck out two and surrendered one of the two hits the Dodgers gave up across two innings.
    Liana Handler, Los Angeles Times, 16 May 2026
  • Brown again tossed four shutout innings, surrendering just one hit while walking one and striking out seven on 65 pitches.
    Meghan Montemurro, Chicago Tribune, 15 May 2026
Verb
  • In one scene, Little Death lays outrageously bloody waste to the frisky incoming counselors of Camp Miasma (played by Zach Cherry, Quintessa Swindell, and Eva Victor, among others) in a long take set to a needle drop that shouldn’t be spoiled but that adds up to something worthy of blissing out to.
    Alison Willmore, Vulture, 14 May 2026
  • That said, Collingwood cautions that soups made with certain ingredients such as dairy, meat, or seafood will spoil faster.
    Heather Riske, Better Homes & Gardens, 14 May 2026
Verb
  • The band isn’t worried about label expectations or pleasing mainstream audiences.
    Maya Georgi, Rolling Stone, 20 May 2026
  • Anyone with information about Nancy's disappearance is asked to please contact 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or the Pima County Sheriff’s Department at 520-351-4900.
    Nicole Acosta, PEOPLE, 18 May 2026
Verb
  • As those commitments are abandoned, there’s a financial price to pay, including more than $9 billion of write-downs for Honda, which made its first operating loss in the company’s history.
    Jonathan M. Gitlin, ArsTechnica, 15 May 2026
  • Famously, many migration projects end up in some sort of failure—behind schedule, over budget, incomplete or abandoned.
    Thomas Berndorfer, Forbes.com, 15 May 2026
Verb
  • On Saturday, May 16, some of the girls got pampered at Corazón Cabo's Sparitual spa with foot massages, full-body treatments and more.
    Erin Clack, PEOPLE, 19 May 2026
  • Across the manosphere, however, young people are told that before feminism ruined everything, women used to be cherished and pampered by their husbands.
    Helen Lewis, The Atlantic, 14 May 2026
Verb
  • Difficult material, yes—but somehow Sandler injects snap and humor into these pages, whether they’re set at the welfare office or on the road in the Dominican Republic, making this a true pleasure to read.
    Nicholas Boggs, The Atlantic, 22 Apr. 2026
  • Kim Kardashian famously donned the classic piece to humor her mother in Khloé and Lamar's wedding special.
    Stephanie Sengwe, PEOPLE, 5 Apr. 2026
Verb
  • But such a hypothetical trade could satisfy cap rules if the Cavs shed money or James Harden takes less money initially in a new deal, which is a strong possibility.
    Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 19 May 2026
  • Google has been expanding its line of AI chips and looking for additional data center capacity to house them — aiming to satisfy an influx of demand from internal users and outside customers.
    Bloomberg, Mercury News, 19 May 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Indulge.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/indulge. Accessed 22 May. 2026.

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