as in spoiling
to treat with great or excessive care
the college president is a past master at dandling wealthy alumni
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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
Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 8 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dandling
Verb
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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
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
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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
Verb
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The elder Junod gave off mixed messages, abusing his long-suffering wife while indulging his gifted son.—
Hamilton Cain,
Time,
3 Mar. 2026
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There’s a conversation for Nebraska worth indulging this spring.—
Mitch Sherman,
New York Times,
26 Feb. 2026
Verb
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On the first floor are some of the swishest quarters, with large rooms that benefit from floor-to-ceiling sash windows framed with thick, fringed curtains, original cornicing, cosseting color schemes of blue and rust, and large, comfy lounge areas with plenty of space to stretch out.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
24 Feb. 2026
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
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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
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Head to Jekyll or Sea Island for pampering at their legendary resorts, Jekyll Island Club Resort and Sea Island Resort.—
Tara Massouleh McCay,
Southern Living,
12 Mar. 2026
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There’s no spa or pool (yet), but deeply pampering in-room treatments can be arranged.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
22 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Leisure bred laziness; coddling meant spoiling.—
Alexandra Schwartz,
New Yorker,
9 Feb. 2026
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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
Cite this Entry
“Dandling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dandling. Accessed 23 Mar. 2026.
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