SPOILING • DICTIONARY ONE.COM • Definition of Spoiling

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/spˈɔɪlɪŋ/ Listen

Spoiling

noun

1.

The process of becoming spoiled. Synonym: spoilage.

2.

The act of spoiling something by causing damage to it. Synonyms: spoil, spoilage.

Spoil

verb

(past & past part. spoilt or spoiled; pres. part. spoiling)

1.

Make a mess of, destroy or ruin. Synonyms: ball up, blow, bobble, bodge, bollix, bollix up, bollocks, bollocks up, botch, botch up, bumble, bungle, flub, fluff, foul up, fuck up, fumble, louse up, mess up, mishandle, muck up, muff, screw up. "The pianist screwed up the difficult passage in the second movement"

2.

Become unfit for consumption or use. Synonym: go bad.

3.

Alter from the original. Synonym: corrupt.

4.

Treat with excessive indulgence. Synonyms: baby, cocker, coddle, cosset, featherbed, indulge, mollycoddle, pamper. "Let's not mollycoddle our students!"

5.

Hinder or prevent (the efforts, plans, or desires) of. Synonyms: baffle, bilk, cross, foil, frustrate, queer, scotch, thwart. "Foil your opponent"

6.

Have a strong desire or urge to do something. Synonym: itch. "He is spoiling for a fight"

7.

Destroy and strip of its possession. Synonyms: despoil, plunder, rape, violate.

8.

Make imperfect. Synonyms: deflower, impair, mar, vitiate.

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WordNet 3.0 © 2010 Princeton University

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"Spoiling" Quotes from Famous Books

... incomprehensible—stinging, confused emotions that beat chaotic time to the clamour of her pulses. "Why d-do you speak of such things?" she repeated with a fierce little indrawn breath—"why do you?—when you know—when I said—explained everything?" She looked at him fearfully: "You are somehow spoiling our friendship," she said; "and I don't exactly know how you are doing it, but something of the comfort of it is being taken away from me—and ...

— The Younger Set • Robert W. Chambers

... believe in spoiling a story for relation's sake, or country's either, and I fully agree with Grey that the Continental habit of breakfasting in bed, with unwashed face and hands, is a very nasty one, in the American sense of the word. I never did ...

— Bessie's Fortune - A Novel • Mary J. Holmes

... American poet says. And women have souls of their own, except in the East. Why shouldn't they be the first consideration and do as they please, pray? They are the weaker, the more delicate and daintily bred. If there is any pampering and spoiling to be done, they should be the objects of it. And as to rights, there is no divine right of way given to man, that I know of. I don't believe in that sort of thing at all. Of course no reasonable woman wants or expects everybody to kootoo before her and everything ...

— Lippincott's Magazine, August, 1885 • Various

... quarrel was not allowed to go to sleep for lack of action on the part of their friends and clansmen. The Macdonalds having made several raids on the Mackenzie country, the Mackenzies retaliated by the spoiling of Morar with a large and overwhelming force. The Macdonalds, taking advantage of Kenneth Mackenzie's visit to Mull with the view to influence Maclean to induce the former to peace, once more committed great devastation in the Mackenzie country, under the leadership of ...

— The Celtic Magazine, Vol. 1, No. 3, January 1876 • Various

... questioning of guests won't do. Why, much learning is spoiling you. You remind me of the radical cobblers in the silly old novels, who, according to the authors, were prepared to trample down all good manners in the pursuit of utilitarian knowledge. The fact is, I begin to think that you have ...

— News from Nowhere - or An Epoch of Rest, being some chapters from A Utopian Romance • William Morris

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