indulge

play

verb in·dulge \in-ˈdəlj\

Definition of indulge

indulged

;

indulging

transitive verb
1a : to give free rein tob : to take unrestrained pleasure in : gratify
2a : to yield to the desire of : humor please indulge me for a momentb : to treat with excessive leniency, generosity, or consideration
intransitive verb
: to indulge oneself

indulger

noun

See indulge defined for English-language learners

See indulge defined for kids

Examples of indulge in a Sentence

It's my birthday. I'm going to indulge myself and eat whatever I want to eat.
It's my birthday. I'm going to indulge.
Please indulge me while I review the topics we covered yesterday.
The museum is an excellent place to let children indulge their curiosity about dinosaurs.
She bought a house with a big yard so that she could indulge her passion for gardening.

Recent Examples of indulge from the Web

Duffy is indulging in a congressional tradition of inter-cameral hostility and finger-pointing that is older than the two-party system.

— ed kilgore, Daily Intelligencer, "No, the Filibuster Isn’t Keeping 50 Republican Senators From Reaching Agreement," 17 July 2017
On Monday, Harris indulged in some thinly veiled criticism of Trump at a naturalization ceremony at the Port of Los Angeles, then went after the GOP healthcare plan at a pro-Obamacare rally at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance.

— christina bellantoni, latimes.com, "Essential Politics: A deadline comes — and goes — for California's landmark climate change law," 10 July 2017
Making jokes about Americans has been endorsed and indulged by the British literary and political classes for over 200 years now.

— charles c. w. cooke, National Review, "My American Dream," 4 July 2017
From Bethenny Frankel to Diane Kruger, see how the stars indulged on Independence Day All products featured were editorially selected.

— people staff, PEOPLE.com, "Burgers, Cocktails and So Many Flag Cakes: What the Stars Are Eating on the 4th of July," 4 July 2017
So bless the folks at BB’s for allowing me to indulge in a solid chunk of the menu without breaking the bank.

— andy staples, SI.com, "Where to eat, drink in Houston," 30 June 2017
VISIT Sephora isn’t just a store for indulging your makeup obsession.

— madeleine marr, miamiherald, "Stuff celebrities love this summer: Banana rum," 30 June 2017
But instead of indulging in the nostalgic fun, people began commenting on the photo calling him Judas.

— gabe bergado, Teen Vogue, "Josh Peck's Instagram Is Being Flooded With Judas Comparisons," 23 June 2017
Towing a trailer seemed a good way to do that while indulging my curiosity about the Airstream.

— charles fleming, star-telegram, "Couple explore desert trails, Old West locales in a silver bullet," 19 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'indulge.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of indulge

Latin indulgēre to be complaisant

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: circa 1623

See Words from the same year

Synonym Discussion of indulge

indulge, pamper, humor, spoil, baby, mollycoddle 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 pamper implies inordinate gratification of desire for luxury and comfort with consequent enervating effect. pampered by the amenities of modern living humor stresses a yielding to a person's moods or whims. humored him by letting him tell the story spoil stresses the injurious effects on character by indulging or pampering. foolish parents spoil their children baby suggests excessive care, attention, or solicitude. babying students by grading too easily mollycoddle suggests an excessive degree of care and attention to another's health or welfare. refused to mollycoddle her malingering son

INDULGE Defined for English Language Learners

indulge

play

verb

Definition of indulge for English Language Learners

: to allow (yourself) to have or do something as a special pleasure
: to allow (someone) to have or do something even though it may not be proper, healthy, appropriate, etc.
: to patiently allow (someone) to do or say something

INDULGE Defined for Kids

indulge

play

verb in·dulge \in-ˈdəlj\

Definition of indulge for Students

indulged

;

indulging

1 : to give in to the desires of Grandparents often indulge their grandchildren.
2 : to give in to a desire for something For my birthday, I indulged in a day off.