dandle

verb

ˈdan-dᵊl How to pronounce dandle (audio)
Definition of dandlenext
as in to spoil
to treat with great or excessive care the college president is a past master at dandling wealthy alumni

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 dandle The tale is pilfered from the Aeneid, but Virgil would blench to see the curtain rise on Jupiter, dandling Ganymede, a beautiful boy, upon his knee. — Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 8 Sep. 2025 An hour later, Musk took X to New York and dandled him on his knee while being photographed for Time. — Jill Lepore, The New Yorker, 11 Sep. 2023 Vet emailed me a photo of Sly contentedly dandling a grandson in his lap. — David Kamp, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dandle
  1. spoil
  2. nurse
  3. baby
  4. indulge
  5. mother
  6. coddle
  7. pamper
  8. cosset
Verb
  • San Francisco’s walk-off win came after the Giants bullpen spoiled Logan Webb’s chance at winning for the first time in nearly a month.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 25 July 2026
  • Man oh man, did the Argentinians spoil their World Cup run by acting like punks last Sunday.
    — Mike Lupica, New York Daily News, 25 July 2026
Definition of spoil
Verb
  • Bordelon first learned about nursing through his aunt, who was a nurse.
    — Andrea Hsu, NPR, 21 July 2026
  • South Korean retail investors who piled into leveraged bets on the country’s AI champions are nursing steep losses, exposing the risks of the speculative trading boom that helped fuel one of the world’s hottest equity markets.
    — Joseph Wilkins, CNBC, 21 July 2026
Definition of nurse
Verb
  • No one’s babying him (at Houston).
    — David Aldridge, New York Times, 21 June 2026
  • Could baby owls and eagles be the key to stopping the spread of bird flu?
    — John Lauritsen, CBS News, 11 June 2026
Definition of baby
Verb
  • Lee indulges that emotional ambiguity, the way the pedal steel can blur the distinction between a frown and a smile.
    — Grayson Haver Currin, Pitchfork, 20 July 2026
  • That’s what happens when a party and its voters stop seriously competing and instead indulge their passions and fever dreams.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 19 July 2026
Definition of indulge
Verb
  • The new cub's arrival marks the first time Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium has had a lion birth since July 2020, when lioness Abana mothered three cubs.
    — Finch Walker, USA Today, 17 June 2026
  • Virginia Dulles was the opposite of Louanne Bixby—even a hundred children couldn’t exhaust her need to mother them.
    — Jonathan Franzen, New Yorker, 1 June 2026
Definition of mother
Verb
  • Serrano comes across as someone with no inclination to coddle elite students.
    — Nate Anderson, ArsTechnica, 8 July 2026
  • Unlike humans, digital creations don’t need to be pampered, fed or emotionally coddled.
    — Joy Press, Vanity Fair, 6 July 2026
Definition of coddle
Verb
  • An emphasis on wellness means not only pampering spa treatments but advanced health tech, movement, and meditation sessions over an entire floor.
    — Kathryn Romeyn, Travel + Leisure, 7 July 2026
  • In the Concierge collection of suites on Norwegian Joy, you will also be pampered with spacious accommodations, concierge service, and private dining.
    — Condé Nast Traveler, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 July 2026
Definition of pamper
Verb
  • Great Magnificent Mile location for exploring the city, and a cosseting base to retreat to when exhausted.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 10 July 2026
  • Down at the bottom of the hierarchy, or really not ranked at all, is Lucien (Jérémy Gillet), a fey and cosseted twink of privilege who longs to meet Jim but is kept at home, safely away from anything gay, by his domineering mother.
    — Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 17 May 2026
Definition of cosset

Browse Nearby Words

dandies
dandle
dandled
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Cite this Entry

“Dandle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dandle. Accessed 26 Jul. 2026.

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