1
as in marring
to affect slightly with something morally bad or undesirable
too much coddling will spoil the child
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in decomposing
to go through decomposition
the meat has spoiled
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in damaging
to reduce the soundness, effectiveness, or perfection of
know when to stop, for an unnecessary brushstroke can spoil a painted portrait
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in indulging
to treat with great or excessive care
when they were newlyweds, the wife tended to spoil her husband, but she soon got over that
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in spoiled
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
as in rotting
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of spoiling
Brian Hiatt, Rolling Stone, 12 Sep. 2025
Without spoiling anyone’s fate, suffice to say the movie ends on a cliffhanger, as a favorite character teeters between life and death.
—Peter Debruge, Variety, 12 Sep. 2025
Joy Behar may owe Queen Latifah’s grandma one of her famous lasagnas after accidentally spoiling for her that The Equalizer had ended on The View.
—Emlyn Travis, Entertainment Weekly, 9 Sep. 2025
Dylan O’Brien stans might have already seen Twinless, the movie that got leaked because his die-hards couldn’t resist spoiling a major scene from it out of Sundance.
—Savannah Salazar, Vulture, 5 Sep. 2025
Shelf-stable items are often the most plentiful in Burmese grocery stores in Milwaukee since they can be shipped across the world without refrigeration or concerns about spoiling.
—Sophie Carson, jsonline.com, 4 Sep. 2025
Without spoiling too much, Dennis is a borderline stalker at times, and Roman has anger issues rooted in the death of his brother.
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 4 Sep. 2025
Without spoiling too much, all of this – and Edwards’ actions during the raid in particular – lead to serious repercussions.
—Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 31 Aug. 2025
Expiring food that couldn’t fit inside the overstuffed refrigerator and freezer sat spoiling on the counter, growing mold and attracting flies.
—Kristen Kidd, Denver Post, 30 Aug. 2025
Noun
Without spoiling the actual ending, you guys do not die.
—Brian Hiatt, Rolling Stone, 12 Sep. 2025
Without spoiling anyone’s fate, suffice to say the movie ends on a cliffhanger, as a favorite character teeters between life and death.
—Peter Debruge, Variety, 12 Sep. 2025
Joy Behar may owe Queen Latifah’s grandma one of her famous lasagnas after accidentally spoiling for her that The Equalizer had ended on The View.
—Emlyn Travis, Entertainment Weekly, 9 Sep. 2025
Dylan O’Brien stans might have already seen Twinless, the movie that got leaked because his die-hards couldn’t resist spoiling a major scene from it out of Sundance.
—Savannah Salazar, Vulture, 5 Sep. 2025
Shelf-stable items are often the most plentiful in Burmese grocery stores in Milwaukee since they can be shipped across the world without refrigeration or concerns about spoiling.
—Sophie Carson, jsonline.com, 4 Sep. 2025
Without spoiling too much, Dennis is a borderline stalker at times, and Roman has anger issues rooted in the death of his brother.
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 4 Sep. 2025
Without spoiling too much, all of this – and Edwards’ actions during the raid in particular – lead to serious repercussions.
—Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 31 Aug. 2025
Expiring food that couldn’t fit inside the overstuffed refrigerator and freezer sat spoiling on the counter, growing mold and attracting flies.
—Kristen Kidd, Denver Post, 30 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spoiling
Verb
-
Boston comes in with three straight losses marring otherwise agreeable vibes.—
Steven Louis Goldstein,
New York Times,
21 Aug. 2025
Verb
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So when a redwood falls and begins decomposing, its massive trunk, branches, and bark break down over many, many years.—
Greg Sullivan,
AFAR Media,
15 Sep. 2025
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O’Steen bludgeoned Marissa Grimes, dug a shallow grave for her under his house in west Fort Worth and for 10 days lived above where police later sawed open the floor to expose Grimes’ decomposing 135-pound body, prosecutors have argued that the evidence shows.—
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
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China has rejected the accusation and accused the Philippines of damaging the coral reef ecosystem in the waterway instead.—
Nectar Gan,
CNN Money,
11 Sep. 2025
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To get a much clearer look at its fine details and avoid damaging the specimen, the research team used highly powerful synchrotron CT scans from facilities in France and the UK.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
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And, heck, even Friday, particularly with Travis Kelce indulging and inciting fans at Neo Quimica Arena with dance moves during warmups before the Chiefs took on the Los Angeles Chargers.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
6 Sep. 2025
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This isn’t about indulging individual preferences, but rather maximizing human potential.—
Neil Henderson,
Forbes.com,
2 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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In 1951, the effervescent Crowley starred as a spoiled teenager on the ABC Saturday afternoon show A Date With Judy, which had been a popular radio program and then a 1948 movie that starred Jane Powell.—
Mike Barnes,
HollywoodReporter,
15 Sep. 2025
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From spoiled chicken to dead cockroaches, health inspectors in Missouri and Kansas found numerous violations at Kansas City area restaurants last week.—
Eleanor Nash,
Kansas City Star,
14 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Rahmani, the former prosecutor, said statements by Patel and other Justice Department officials could raise concerns about tainting the jury pool in a future trial.—
Erin Mansfield,
USA Today,
15 Sep. 2025
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And around all this, the whiff of Epstein is tainting the president's achievements.—
Kate Plummer,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Their investigation leads them to the rotting corpse of their old neighbor Patty Metzger (a great name for a character whose moniker will hang over the rest of the film), who disappeared years ago.—
Sam Bodrojan,
IndieWire,
11 Sep. 2025
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The vehicle was impounded last week after being abandoned in the Hollywood Hills, where neighbors complained of a rotting smell.—
Andrew Flanagan,
Variety,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Two Xpeng eVTOL flying cars collided during an air show rehearsal in Changchun, injuring one passenger (now stable).—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
17 Sep. 2025
-
The attack marked the first incident of a bear injuring a person in Yellowstone in 2025.—
Natalie Neysa Alund,
USA Today,
17 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Spoiling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spoiling. Accessed 19 Sep. 2025.
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