dandling

verb

present participle of dandle
as in spoiling
to treat with great or excessive care the college president is a past master at dandling wealthy alumni

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 dandling 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dandling
  1. spoiling
  2. nursing
  3. indulging
  4. cosseting
  5. babying
  6. pampering
  7. coddling
Verb
  • Without spoiling what happens next, the mutants confront Trask, and Mystique assumes his identity to further their mission.
    — Jordan Moreau, Variety, 13 Aug. 2026
  • Decades later, the government was still buying surplus cheese and storing it in vast underground caves in Missouri, Wisconsin, and Kansas, warehouses cool enough to hold the cheese for years without spoiling.
    — Catherina Gioino, Fortune, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of spoiling
Verb
  • Uncle Jimmy hung back by the drippy windows at the rear of the kitchen nursing a Schlitz.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 11 Aug. 2026
  • Box Wine is nursing an ACL tear and is not expected to be ready for Week 1.
    — Bill Reinhard, New York Daily News, 9 Aug. 2026
Definition of nursing
Verb
  • Whether the race ever happens, the idea is pure Shaq, a celebrity who's renowned for indulging his passions, of which cars are near the top of the list.
    — Terry Baddoo, USA Today, 13 Aug. 2026
  • Here was a doctor borrowing the language of a fast food brand while encouraging people not to fear indulging.
    — Karin Eldor, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of indulging
Verb
  • Great Magnificent Mile location for exploring the city, and a cosseting base to retreat to when exhausted.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 10 July 2026
  • Beneath a soaring wooden ceiling hung with a trio of dramatically oversize string lamps, Turner softened the blues and dialed up the tactile richness, establishing a more mature, cosseting mood.
    — Andrew Sessa, Robb Report, 5 Apr. 2026
Definition of cosseting
Verb
  • No one’s babying him (at Houston).
    — David Aldridge, New York Times, 21 June 2026
  • 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
Definition of babying
Verb
  • The vintage architecture of the 130-year-old hotel is a pastiche of Gothic Revival turrets and arches, a stone castle masquerading as what is arguably the world's most luxurious and pampering ski hotel.
    — Everett Potter, Forbes.com, 17 Aug. 2026
  • An emphasis on wellness means not only pampering spa treatments but advanced health tech, movement, and meditation sessions over an entire floor.
    — Kathryn Romeyn, Travel + Leisure, 7 July 2026
Definition of pampering
Verb
  • North Carolina politician says Democrats are coddling criminals Records also list a September 2025 simple-assault charge and a March 2025 charge of assault on a female.
    — Greg Wehner, FOXNews.com, 8 Aug. 2026
  • This lifestyle caused many citizens to accuse the military of coddling the enemy.
    — Helaine Williams, Arkansas Online, 20 June 2026
Definition of coddling

Browse Nearby Words

dandles
dandling
dandy
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Cite this Entry

“Dandling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dandling. Accessed 19 Aug. 2026.

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