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 pamper in a Sentence
They really pamper their guests at that hotel.
She pampered herself with a day at the spa.
He was pampered all his life and doesn't know how to function in the real world.
Recent Examples on the WebAt the beating heart of it all, of course, are the two cars, which, in the hours before races, are like patients on an operating table, carefully but constantly tended to, soothed, adjusted, tweaked, pampered.—Corey Seymour, Vogue, 20 Nov. 2023 Spend your nights steps away from the beach in the stylish Croydon Hotel, where you'll be pampered with waterfront views, luxurious amenities, a rooftop sundeck, and complimentary happy hour each evening.—Southern Living Editors, Southern Living, 10 Nov. 2023 Before pampering her hubby with the products, Johansson attempts to introduce herself, instead cycling through several hilarious takes.—Bailey Richards, Peoplemag, 24 Oct. 2023 From quirky gadgets that add excitement to your daily routine to luxe self-care essentials that pamper your senses — these items are sure to be some of your favorite purchases this month.—Samantha Booth, Rolling Stone, 26 Sep. 2023 But a more positive read here is that each of these annoyances offers a new opportunity to pamper yourself.—Grace McCarty, SELF, 9 Nov. 2023 This makes a great gift for moms, teachers, or anyone who could use a little extra pampering this holiday season.—Melanie Fincher, Southern Living, 23 Oct. 2023 In the past five years, Aqua Expeditions, Celebrity Cruises, and Silversea Cruises have debuted vessels that cater to those who expect to learn something while they’re being pampered (76 cruise ships are now allowed to visit the islands).—Jacqui Gifford, Travel + Leisure, 16 Oct. 2023 No matter where guests stay there's sure to be plenty of pampering, with crew set to outnumber the amount of passengers on the ship.—Jessica Puckett, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 Oct. 2023 See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pamper.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Middle English, probably of Dutch origin; akin to Dutch dialect pamperen to pamper
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