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
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2
as in spoiling
to treat with great or excessive care
accused the judiciary of coddling criminals
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in pampering
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Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of coddling
Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2025
Avoid over-coddling; instead, use play, treats, and touch to build confidence.
—Lucy Notarantonio, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Aug. 2025
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
Trump has a habit of coddling enemies and abusing friends, neither of which serves our strategic interests.
—Steve Chapman, Chicago Tribune, 6 Aug. 2025
This followed Ryan Clark accusing the Lakers of coddling LeBron’s son, Bronny James, as he won’t be required to travel while on G League team The South Bay Lakers due to the squad flying commercial.
—Armon Sadler, VIBE.com, 21 Nov. 2024
In the snap, the dad of three, 39, can be seen focused on his phone in one hand while coddling a sleeping baby Lou in the other.
—Emma Aerin Becker, People.com, 4 Oct. 2024
Verb
Those softies are going to get more coddling.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2025
Avoid over-coddling; instead, use play, treats, and touch to build confidence.
—Lucy Notarantonio, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Aug. 2025
Noun
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
Trump has a habit of coddling enemies and abusing friends, neither of which serves our strategic interests.
—Steve Chapman, Chicago Tribune, 6 Aug. 2025
This followed Ryan Clark accusing the Lakers of coddling LeBron’s son, Bronny James, as he won’t be required to travel while on G League team The South Bay Lakers due to the squad flying commercial.
—Armon Sadler, VIBE.com, 21 Nov. 2024
In the snap, the dad of three, 39, can be seen focused on his phone in one hand while coddling a sleeping baby Lou in the other.
—Emma Aerin Becker, People.com, 4 Oct. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for coddling
Verb
-
Bring a large pot of boiling water to boil, then add 2 tablespoons of kosher salt.—
Karla Walsh,
Better Homes & Gardens,
2 Oct. 2025
-
Nothing makes sports more watchable than a nice, healthy, blood-boiling rivalry.—
Rasputin Todd,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
1 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Arsenal host Chelsea in the coming weeks, a two-pronged opportunity for both spoiling and redemption.—
Megan Feringa,
New York Times,
5 Oct. 2025
-
Soundcore reckons that the screen's large footprint should help prevent the odd gust of wind from spoiling the yard or pool party.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
25 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Chocolate cosmos don’t require a lot of pampering.—
Kim Toscano,
Southern Living,
3 Oct. 2025
-
For Drianna and her grandmother, Mita, what began as an evening of pampering transformed into a powerful message of gratitude that continues to resonate online.—
Ashley Vega,
PEOPLE,
26 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The other people Ye tries to big-foot into indulging his perverse Peter Pan complex fare more poorly.—
Derek Robertson,
The Washington Examiner,
10 Oct. 2025
-
Whether that’s indulging Wes Anderson’s imagination (as a three-time member of his ever-growing ensemble) or producing her own projects, Johansson always manages to surprise.—
Peter Debruge,
Variety,
9 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Conceivably one or two of them should have already been at Citi Field, but until finally summoning McLean to pitch Saturday, Stearns has been babying them in the minors.—
Bill Madden,
New York Daily News,
16 Aug. 2025
-
However, some have criticized employer techniques for tracking in-office attendance as babying employees and demonstrating an unwarranted lack of trust.—
Scharon Harding,
ArsTechnica,
8 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Teams played best-of-three series in the NCAA tournament back then, and Sullivan was nursing a bad ankle that sidelined him for the first game, a BU loss.—
Peter Baugh,
New York Times,
7 Oct. 2025
-
Before the end of the third quarter, Jackson was out of the game, nursing a hamstring according to the broadcast, and Cooper Rush, the former Dallas Cowboys’ backup, finished the game.—
Blair Kerkhoff,
Kansas City Star,
28 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Coddling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/coddling. Accessed 14 Oct. 2025.
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