as in pampering
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1
as in boiling
to cook in a liquid heated to the point that it gives off steam
a hearty, traditional breakfast that included coddled eggs
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in spoiling
to treat with great or excessive care
accused the judiciary of coddling criminals
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Recent Examples of coddling
Orianna Rosa Royle, Fortune, 12 Mar. 2026
The popularity and success of the Chiefs prior to the 2025 Super Bowl, led to countless complaints of favorable officiating and League coddling from disgruntled fans and hot take pundits.
—Emil Steiner, Forbes.com, 30 Jan. 2026
The intense coddling and dysfunction within the family come to a head at the end of the show opener when a drunken Paul crashes a boat, killing his best friend’s girlfriend, Mallory (Madeline Popovich), and injuring all on board.
—Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 15 Oct. 2025
Avoid over-coddling; instead, use play, treats, and touch to build confidence.
—Lucy Notarantonio, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Aug. 2025
Alexandra Schwartz, New Yorker, 9 Feb. 2026
His whole combo — coddling yet revering — makes clear how this hopeless estate chugged along for so long.
—Theater Critic, San Francisco Chronicle, 5 Feb. 2026
True American industrial strength rests on productivity, innovation, competition, and access to global supply chains, not on coddling producers behind walls of higher prices.
—Veronique De Rugy, Oc Register, 25 Nov. 2025
Campbell has accused the SCORE Act of disadvantaging these groups while coddling the NCAA.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 7 Oct. 2025
Salicylic acid penetrates deep into the pores to dissolve away acne-causing debris, while coddling the skin barrier with a cocktail of ceramides and niacinamide.
—Sophia Panych, Allure, 16 Sep. 2025
This is not about lowering expectations or coddling employees.
—Ruth Oh Reitmeier, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
Traditional romantic comedies often ask us to fall in love with, or at least be charmed by, Lucy or Julie, but neither film is keen on that kind of coddling.
—Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 22 Aug. 2025
His Victor is the product of a coddling mother (Mia Goth), who dies young and leaves him emotionally adrift, and a domineering father (Charles Dance), who molds him into a brilliant but heedless inventor.
—Brent Lang, Variety, 20 Aug. 2025
Noun
And the coddling doesn’t stop there.
—Orianna Rosa Royle, Fortune, 12 Mar. 2026
The popularity and success of the Chiefs prior to the 2025 Super Bowl, led to countless complaints of favorable officiating and League coddling from disgruntled fans and hot take pundits.
—Emil Steiner, Forbes.com, 30 Jan. 2026
The intense coddling and dysfunction within the family come to a head at the end of the show opener when a drunken Paul crashes a boat, killing his best friend’s girlfriend, Mallory (Madeline Popovich), and injuring all on board.
—Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 15 Oct. 2025
Avoid over-coddling; instead, use play, treats, and touch to build confidence.
—Lucy Notarantonio, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Aug. 2025
Verb
Leisure bred laziness; coddling meant spoiling.
—Alexandra Schwartz, New Yorker, 9 Feb. 2026
His whole combo — coddling yet revering — makes clear how this hopeless estate chugged along for so long.
—Theater Critic, San Francisco Chronicle, 5 Feb. 2026
True American industrial strength rests on productivity, innovation, competition, and access to global supply chains, not on coddling producers behind walls of higher prices.
—Veronique De Rugy, Oc Register, 25 Nov. 2025
Campbell has accused the SCORE Act of disadvantaging these groups while coddling the NCAA.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 7 Oct. 2025
Salicylic acid penetrates deep into the pores to dissolve away acne-causing debris, while coddling the skin barrier with a cocktail of ceramides and niacinamide.
—Sophia Panych, Allure, 16 Sep. 2025
This is not about lowering expectations or coddling employees.
—Ruth Oh Reitmeier, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
Traditional romantic comedies often ask us to fall in love with, or at least be charmed by, Lucy or Julie, but neither film is keen on that kind of coddling.
—Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 22 Aug. 2025
His Victor is the product of a coddling mother (Mia Goth), who dies young and leaves him emotionally adrift, and a domineering father (Charles Dance), who molds him into a brilliant but heedless inventor.
—Brent Lang, Variety, 20 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for coddling
Noun
-
Waterfront resorts provide a level of pampering during your stay.—
Tara Massouleh McCay,
Southern Living,
12 Mar. 2026
-
Splash around in the pools, scoot around the expansive grounds by golf cart or on foot, and adults can indulge in pampering at Calluna Spa.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
27 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The waters the real Dahl waded into were boiling then and haven’t dropped a degree since.—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
24 Mar. 2026
-
The official was one of three who compared their recent experience at NRC to being in a pot of slowly boiling water.—
Avi Asher-Schapiro,
ProPublica,
24 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Many of the nation's 11 million residents struggle to keep food from spoiling.—
MATTHEW LEE,
Arkansas Online,
22 Mar. 2026
-
As Cuba’s economic crisis deepens and amid the fuel shortages and the blackouts, hospitals have been hard hit, leaving patients in the dark and medicine at risk of spoiling.—
Carmen Sesin,
NBC news,
18 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The novel is in many ways a string of dazzlingly deadpan and sharp observations about navigating the strange world of now, from predictive advertising to sugar babying to dead college friends.—
Jasmine Vojdani,
Vulture,
4 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
The elder Junod gave off mixed messages, abusing his long-suffering wife while indulging his gifted son.—
Hamilton Cain,
Time,
3 Mar. 2026
-
There’s a conversation for Nebraska worth indulging this spring.—
Mitch Sherman,
New York Times,
26 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
James, who took a hard spill in the fourth quarter and banged his right elbow, was officially nursing left foot arthritis.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Mar. 2026
-
In their off-hours, one employee was nursing an infant and homeschooling a preschooler, and another worked a second job as a real estate agent.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
19 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Coddling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/coddling. Accessed 26 Mar. 2026.
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