as in to spoil
to treat with great or excessive care
the college president is a past master at dandling wealthy alumni
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of dandle
The tale is pilfered from the Aeneid, but Virgil would blench to see the curtain rise on Jupiter, dandling Ganymede, a beautiful boy, upon his knee.
—
Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 8 Sep. 2025
An hour later, Musk took X to New York and dandled him on his knee while being photographed for Time.
—Jill Lepore, The New Yorker, 11 Sep. 2023
Vet emailed me a photo of Sly contentedly dandling a grandson in his lap.
—David Kamp, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
The day after the election, Taaz Robinson, a fellow third-year, posted a picture on Buckingham’s Facebook page of Donald Trump as an infant being dandled by Vladimir Putin.
—Tara Bahrampour, Washington Post, 12 Oct. 2017
Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 8 Sep. 2025
An hour later, Musk took X to New York and dandled him on his knee while being photographed for Time.
—Jill Lepore, The New Yorker, 11 Sep. 2023
Vet emailed me a photo of Sly contentedly dandling a grandson in his lap.
—David Kamp, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
The day after the election, Taaz Robinson, a fellow third-year, posted a picture on Buckingham’s Facebook page of Donald Trump as an infant being dandled by Vladimir Putin.
—Tara Bahrampour, Washington Post, 12 Oct. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dandle
Verb
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Pluribus crackles with terrific comic tension as Carol wakes up next to her dead partner, filled with grief yet spoiling for a fight.—
Scott Tobias,
Vulture,
7 Nov. 2025
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Without spoiling too much, the two-minute clip finds Carol weathering ample concern for her less-than-cheery demeanor.—
Randall Colburn,
Entertainment Weekly,
5 Nov. 2025
Verb
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The rookie quarterback continues to nurse a back injury.—
Chantz Martin,
FOXNews.com,
6 Nov. 2025
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One recalled that the mom of an Ole Miss first-year stayed in the family’s new campus-adjacent apartment last fall to provide logistical and moral support during sorority rush, lending her daughter a hand in fixing hair or nursing a hangover.—
Russell Shaw,
The Atlantic,
2 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Hummers are the smallest and lightest of birds, some weighing no more than a coin, some babies the size of a bean.—
Kate Siber,
Outside,
21 Oct. 2025
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Outside the woods the whole world babied her.—
Hazlitt,
Hazlitt,
8 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Rather than shaming you for your preferences, Sohm will indulge your desires.—
Tori Latham,
Robb Report,
6 Nov. 2025
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Here in the heart of the Alps, Rosita, who passed away in January, fully indulged her passion for mushrooms and foraging.—
Laura May Todd,
Architectural Digest,
6 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Really, the album is about tiring of mothering men who are great in bed but lack crucial social skills.—
Craig Jenkins,
Vulture,
3 Sep. 2025
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She was born on July 10, 2024, to mother Jona, 26 and father Tony, 25, with two other siblings Pork Stew and Sweet Pork at the zoo in Chonburi, NorthJersey.com, part of the USA TODAY NETWORK, reported.—
Julia Gomez,
USA Today,
11 July 2025
Verb
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The wrecking-ball style is the way King played even at Longview (Texas) High, where his father was the coach, and didn’t coddle or protect his son, as Dickey remembers.—
Seth Emerson,
New York Times,
8 Oct. 2025
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Campbell has accused the SCORE Act of disadvantaging these groups while coddling the NCAA.—
Michael McCann,
Sportico.com,
7 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Perez himself is known to prefer that players are not pampered or allowed too much leeway.—
Dermot Corrigan,
New York Times,
31 Oct. 2025
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Do something to pamper yourself.—
Georgia Nicols,
Denver Post,
12 Oct. 2025
Verb
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While most art cars since the fifth installment had been cosseted, this one was present at the starting line for the 2010 24 Hours of Le Mans.—
Trinity Francis,
Forbes.com,
29 Aug. 2025
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The downstairs dining room is intimate, cosseting and plush; upstairs is more relaxed and idiosyncratically chic.—
Ligaya Mishan,
New York Times,
22 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Dandle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dandle. Accessed 11 Nov. 2025.
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