indulge

verb

in·dulge | \in-ˈdəlj

indulged; indulging

Definition of indulge

transitive verb

1a : to give free rein to

b : to take unrestrained pleasure in : gratify

2a : to yield to the desire of : humor please indulge me for a moment

b : to treat with excessive leniency, generosity, or consideration

intransitive verb

: to indulge oneself

Other Words from indulge Synonyms & Antonyms Choose the Right Synonym More Example Sentences Learn More about indulge

Keep scrolling for more

Choose the Right Synonym for 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

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 on the Web

The overarching message from governments big and small is that panhandlers are scamming the public and shouldn’t be indulged. — Bryce Covert, Longreads, "Pay the Homeless," 29 June 2018 But Starbucks wants to counter that with its own prodding—why not indulge during a flash promotion? — Kevin Kelleher, Fortune, "Frappuccino Sales Are Cooling. Here's How Starbucks Plans to Win Customers Back," 21 June 2018 And as the shoot went on, recreational use that started by the gram turned into binges indulged by the ounce. — Chris Nashawaty, SI.com, "Inside the Caddyshack Scene That Squashed the Bill Murray-Chevy Chase Beef," 17 Apr. 2018 Turkey has had slow growth, rising inflation and capital flight as Mr. Erdogan has indulged his authoritarian instincts and politicized the central bank. — The Editorial Board, WSJ, "Turkey’s Authoritarian Choice," 24 June 2018 Feel free to indulge here and still stay on budget. — Joe Jackson, San Francisco Chronicle, "Bard-land on a budget: Experiencing Ashland with 2 people for 2 days on $200," 24 May 2018 Go ahead — give yourself permission to indulge and give back at the same time. — Shanelle Drakeford, Allure, "9 Wellness Products That Support Good Causes and Help You Relax," 19 Apr. 2018 Some of Trump's detractors argue that the President is short-circuiting a conventional policy process simply to indulge his whims and is making decisions involving national security to bolster his own political base. — Stephen Collinson, CNN, "Presidential whiplash stokes immigration crisis to justify troop surge," 5 Apr. 2018 There's no romance here; this is simply a case of two young adults spontaneously indulging their baser instincts and doing so with wild, unrestrained passion. — Darla Murray, Cosmopolitan, "10 Guys Reveal the Movie Sex Scene That Turns Them on Most," 16 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.