baby 1 of 3

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2
3
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as in complainer
a person who makes frequent complaints usually about little things don't be such a baby—the shot didn't hurt that much

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

baby

2 of 3

verb

baby

3 of 3

adjective

Synonym Chooser

How does the verb baby contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of baby are humor, indulge, mollycoddle, pamper, and spoil. While all these words mean "to show undue favor to a person's desires and feelings," baby suggests excessive care, attention, or solicitude.

babying students by grading too easily

When might humor be a better fit than baby?

The synonyms humor and baby are sometimes interchangeable, but humor stresses a yielding to a person's moods or whims.

humored him by letting him tell the story

When can indulge be used instead of baby?

The words indulge and baby can be used in similar contexts, but indulge implies excessive compliance and weakness in gratifying another's or one's own desires.

indulged myself with food at the slightest excuse

Where would mollycoddle be a reasonable alternative to baby?

The words mollycoddle and baby are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, mollycoddle suggests an excessive degree of care and attention to another's health or welfare.

refused to mollycoddle her malingering son

In what contexts can pamper take the place of baby?

In some situations, the words pamper and baby are roughly equivalent. However, pamper implies inordinate gratification of desire for luxury and comfort with consequent enervating effect.

pampered by the amenities of modern living

When would spoil be a good substitute for baby?

The meanings of spoil and baby largely overlap; however, spoil stresses the injurious effects on character by indulging or pampering.

foolish parents spoil their children

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 baby
Noun
The next images that appear depict three sequential viewpoints, suggesting the frames of a film strip, of a baby’s crowning head. Jessica Simmons-Reid, Artforum, 1 June 2025 The baby’s father is David, a prisoner convicted of a 2008 murder. Isadora Wandermurem, Time, 30 May 2025
Verb
The sensitive child of the bunch doesn’t need to be babied. Victoria Uwumarogie, Essence, 28 Nov. 2023 Plus, judging by Dustin May, Walker Buehler and many others, babying a pitcher doesn’t seem too effective. Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 6 June 2023 See All Example Sentences for baby
Recent Examples of Synonyms for baby
Noun
  • Back in present day, each of their children lay their flower beside candles and a memorial photo as a sign of their eternal love.
    Rosemary Rossi, Variety, 9 June 2025
  • On the face of things, this ruling handed a momentous win to Woldenberg, who attended the hearing with his wife and three grown children, all of whom work for the business.
    John Cassidy, New Yorker, 9 June 2025
Noun
  • The person filming showed a backyard filled with people who appeared to be in their late teens to early 20s drinking and playing games.
    Jeff A. Chamer, Charlotte Observer, 3 June 2025
  • The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because word of the separation needed to come from Homa.
    Doug Ferguson, Baltimore Sun, 3 June 2025
Noun
  • Such a gradual approach to the moon does not, however, guarantee landing success.
    Jackie Wattles, CNN Money, 4 June 2025
  • That knowledge might be the very thing driving your success.
    Lien De Pau, Forbes.com, 4 June 2025
Verb
  • Today’s retirement stewards nurse a Rube Goldberg contraption of laws, one-off integrations and workarounds.
    Miguel Kudry, Forbes.com, 28 May 2025
  • After starting Saturday sharing the lead, Ben Griffin and Matthias Schmid continued their control of the leaderboard at the Charles Schwab Challenge with the pair nursing a 4-stroke lead headed into Sunday’s final round.
    Lawrence Dow, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 25 May 2025
Adjective
  • The regular size McFlurry weighs in with a total of 460 calories; the mini size at 280 calories.
    Mike Snider, USA Today, 6 June 2025
  • Kylie Kelce has a little mini me in her second youngest daughter, 2-year-old Bennett.
    Sara Vallone, Miami Herald, 6 June 2025
Noun
  • By the time Arturo was a toddler and Iris an infant, the family had settled full time in Oxford.
    Rebecca Mead, New Yorker, 9 June 2025
  • The goal is for the endowment to help pay the costs to create 16,000 spaces for preschool, infants, and toddlers by 2030.
    Christopher Keating, Hartford Courant, 8 June 2025
Noun
  • At the same time, Musk owns the infrastructure of conservative discourse, via X. That puts both men in a sort of co-dependent situation – Musk owns the medium, while Trump’s ideas are the message.
    Andy Meek, Forbes.com, 6 June 2025
  • Aaron Rodgers is the new man in town for the storied franchise and will look to make one more run at a Super Bowl.
    Evan Massey, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 June 2025
Noun
  • Among his more recent accomplishments was introducing a rock band element to the music program about five years ago.
    Janice Neumann, Chicago Tribune, 8 June 2025
  • Historians often describe Flammarion more as a popularizer than a serious scientist, but this should not diminish his accomplishments.
    Matthew Shindell, The Conversation, 6 June 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Baby.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/baby. Accessed 17 Jun. 2025.

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