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
  • The same relentlessness that built Ackman’s reputation as a scourge of corporate excess—and, to critics, a bully spoiling for a fight—has increasingly spilled beyond balance sheets and boardrooms.
    — Jeff John Roberts, Fortune, 20 July 2026
  • Without spoiling too much, Rick and Morty make a cameo in the pilot in a very meta scene.
    — Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 6 July 2026
Definition of spoiling
Verb
  • The teen has only one goal while putting 10 shots on target after coming into this World Cup still nursing a left hamstring issue.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 13 July 2026
  • Upon coming to America, Shirley taught herself English and began nursing school before starting out in Michigan.
    — Caroline Blair, PEOPLE, 8 July 2026
Definition of nursing
Verb
  • On that note, resist the urge to bury discomfort by indulging, shopping or being stubbornly silent.
    — Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 8 July 2026
  • Will blamed Cal for the idea; Cal, Will for indulging it; both of them the other for not being the one dead.
    — Emily Ruskovich, The Atlantic, 7 July 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
  • 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
  • Anthropologie’s Summer Sale is pampering fashion insiders with 50-percent-off deals stacked on top of already on-sale buys, reflected in cart.
    — Stacia Datskovska, Footwear News, 2 July 2026
Definition of pampering
Verb
  • Asking for sportsbook revenue while simultaneously watering down the product and coddling rule-breakers with minor-league rehab is a terrible look.
    — Geoff Clark OutKick, FOXNews.com, 26 June 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 22 Jul. 2026.

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