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
Verb
Sunday’s strikes involved 823 drones and missiles and killed four people, including a mother and baby. Jeronimo Gonzalez, semafor.com, 10 Sep. 2025 This body has had 3 babies, like, this is not the body of my 20s. Maggie Ryan, Flow Space, 10 Sep. 2025
Adjective
Be babied by him with back rubs, head scratches and order fast food for dinner. Emily St. Martin, Oc Register, 9 May 2025 But Vance thinks the real problem is that people just aren’t babying hard enough. Rachel Marsden, Hartford Courant, 8 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for baby
Recent Examples of Synonyms for baby
Noun
  • No one who celebrates the loss of human life should be anywhere near children.
    Amy DeLaura, The Washington Examiner, 12 Sep. 2025
  • Hence children who develop strong foundational skills early are better equipped to use AI tools beneficially later.
    Cornelia C. Walther, Forbes.com, 12 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Authorities are combing through video from the scene, including this video which appears to show a person on the roof immediately following the shooting, according to sources familiar with the ongoing investigation.
    Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 11 Sep. 2025
  • Republican strategist Michael Biundo was among many to observe how confident Kirk was from the jump, how undaunted by being new to the scene and often the youngest person in the mix.
    Eric Cortellessa, Time, 11 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Bateman's character, Vince Friedken, battles a gambling addiction in a trailer for the crime thriller, as Law's Jake Friedken celebrates the growing success of his buzzy establishment.
    Anna Kaufman, USA Today, 10 Sep. 2025
  • The Georgia firebrand, who has been insistent that the United States stay out of affairs abroad, has attempted similar amendments to both the NDAA and appropriations bills in past years and recently, with no success.
    Rachel Schilke, The Washington Examiner, 10 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • But Waller has been nursing a hip injury since joining the team, and didn’t participate in a single training camp practice.
    Omar Kelly, Miami Herald, 4 Sep. 2025
  • In the accompanying image, Baz is lying on her side, nursing her son in a low cut bra while holding a bottle in her free hand.
    Elisabeth Sherman, Parents, 3 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Another look worn by the YouTuber includes a unique jersey polo mini dress priced at $139 paired with the Good Ease leopard jeans, which retail for $188.
    Ingrid Vasquez, People.com, 9 Sep. 2025
  • Presenter Paris Hilton wore a black leather The Blonds ensemble featuring flame appliques fashioned into a mini dress.
    Tracy Wright, FOXNews.com, 8 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • She is charged with abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence, and concealing the birth of an infant, the Lexington Police Department said in a news release.
    Charlotte Phillipp, PEOPLE, 7 Sep. 2025
  • Drummond is blamed for the deaths of the parents, grandmother and uncle of an infant found abandoned in a home's front yard in rural west Tennessee.
    Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 6 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Authorities arrested a man shortly after a bullet hit Kirk, Mason said during the news conference.
    Amanda Lee Myers, USA Today, 11 Sep. 2025
  • No man is worth missing Paris for.
    Vogue, Vogue, 11 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Sleep Token Managed the Same Feat The accomplishment, which had never been achieved before November 2024, was repeated this past spring.
    Hugh McIntyre, Forbes.com, 7 Sep. 2025
  • For him, the clothes are an entry point to celebrating the lives and accomplishments of Black women, including Coretta Scott King, Diahann Carroll, and Mahalia Jackson, and Fredye Marshall and Dorothy Lee Bolden.
    Lisa Deaderick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Baby.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/baby. Accessed 13 Sep. 2025.

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