ə̇nˌdəlj verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Latin indulgēre to grant as a favor, be courteous, be kind, from in- in- (II) + -dulgēre (probably akin to Old English tulge firmly, well, Old Saxon tulgo very, Gothic tulgus firm, steadfast, Greek dolichos long, Sanskrit dīrgha ); basic meaning: long, enduring
transitive verb
1. archaic : to grant as a favor : bestow in concession or in compliance with a wish or request — usually used in the passive
a privilege seldom indulged to ordinary men
2.
a. : to give free rein to
indulging idle conjectures as to what might be the news — Rafael Sabatini
likes to indulge a taste for the difficult — Current Biography
an excellent place to indulge a normal curiosity about clocks and watches — Ellwood Kirby
: take unrestrained pleasure in : yield to : gratify
indulge a taste for exotic dishes
b. : to allow (oneself) unrestrained pleasure (as in the gratification of a normally restrained habit or desire) or unrestrained freedom (as in the expression of a normally restrained feeling)
indulged himself in the delights of leisure
indulge oneself in eating and drinking
indulging herself in histrionics
3.
a. : to yield to the desire of or be forbearing in respect to out of favor or kindness under circumstances where one would not usually yield : gratify by unusual compliance : allow to proceed or act free from the restraints one would ordinarily impose : humor
indulge a convalescing child in whatever he wishes to eat
indulged her husband until he would not lift a finger around the house
: favor in a way that pampers or treats with undue liberality
a time when schoolboys were less indulged with pocket money than they seem to be nowadays — Archibald Marshall
b. : to grant an indulgence to or on
intransitive verb
: to indulge in something
offered him a drink but he protested that he did not indulge
Synonyms:
indulge , pamper , humor , spoil , baby , and mollycoddle can mean, in common, to treat a person or his desires or feelings with unusual or special usually undue favor or attention. indulge with a personal object implies extreme compliance and often weakness in gratifying another's wishes or desires which have little claim to fulfillment
I wanted to indulge him in all his particular food fancies and very soon the air in the apartment became almost visible with the reek of garlic sausage, smoked kippers and cheeses of strong character — Virginia D. Dawson & Betty D. Wilson
grandmamma is always wanting to see them, for she humors and indulges them to such a degree, and gives them so much trash and sweet things, that they are sure to come back sick — Jane Austen
pamper implies inordinate gratification of an appetite or taste especially for luxuries or for what is softening in its physical or moral effects
he preserved without an effort the supremacy of character and mind over the flesh he neither starved nor pampered — G.L.Dickinson
no country can afford to pamper snobbery — G.B.Shaw
pamper a child with rich foods and constant solicitude
humor implies an unusual attention to or a voluntary yielding to what are regarded as another's whims or caprices, often suggesting a purposeful sometimes patronizing accommodation to another's moods
humoring a pet fawn which had a predilection for soap and cigarette butts — Ray Corsini
the tone of your voice, when you speak, is too gentle, as if you were humoring the vagaries of a blind man's mind — Ben Hecht
humor a customer for the sake of making a sale
spoil implies a foolish or excessive indulging or pampering and throws strong stress upon its injurious effects upon the character or disposition
the new queen played with and spoiled the little stepdaughter — Edith Sitwell
he had been a noisy boastful youth and had been spoiled by his father — Sherwood Anderson
baby implies excessive attentions, as to one unable to care for himself and needing the assistance of a mother or nurse; when applied to one presumably capable, it carries the idea of treating with excessive usually foolish care or carefulness
if he thinks I'm going to spend my days catering to his whims, babying him and watching over him like a child, he's mistaken — Helen S. Rush & Mary Sherkanowski
your old records will last longer with this new device to baby them — Coronet
mollycoddle is the strongest of this group in implying inordinate attention and suggesting a ridiculously undue care for another's health or physical comfort or for the relieving of the strain or hardship he presumably, usually fictitiously, suffers or may suffer
a mother who mollycoddles her children by constantly dosing them, keeping them in when it's at all cold or damp and away from other children for fear of germs
protests against the policy of mollycoddling prisoners — J.F.Steiner & R.M.Brown
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- indulge in