Thesaurus

spoil

noun

Synonyms and Antonyms of spoil

valuables stolen or taken by force

the bandits escaped with their lives but not with the spoils

Synonyms of spoil

booty, loot, pillage, plunder, swag

Words Related to spoil

prize

catch, haul, take, treasure

pilferage

windfall

Synonym Discussion of spoil

spoil, plunder, booty, prize, loot mean something taken from another by force or craft. spoil, more commonly spoils, applies to what belongs by right or custom to the victor in war or political contest.

- the spoils of political victory

plunder applies to what is taken not only in war but in robbery, banditry, grafting, or swindling.

- a bootlegger's plunder

booty implies plunder to be shared among confederates.

- thieves dividing up their booty

prize applies to spoils captured on the high seas or territorial waters of the enemy.

- the wartime right of seizing prizes at sea

loot applies especially to what is taken from victims of a catastrophe.

- picked through the ruins for loot

spoil

verb

Synonyms and Antonyms of spoil

1 to affect slightly with something morally bad or undesirable

too much coddling will spoil the child

Synonyms of spoil

blemish, darken, mar, poison, stain, taint, tarnish, touch, vitiate

Words Related to spoil

begrime, besmear, besmirch, blacken, blur, cloud, dirty, discolor, pollute, smear, smirch, smudge, smut, soil, sully, tar

abase, cheapen, debase, degrade, demean, discredit, disgrace, dishonor, foul, lower, shame, sink

bastardize, corrupt, debauch, demoralize, deprave, pervert, subvert

color, distort, twist

Near Antonyms of spoil

cleanse, purify

dignify, elevate, ennoble, enshrine, glorify, hallow, magnify, uplift

2 to go through decomposition

the meat has spoiled

Synonyms of spoil

break down, corrupt, decay, decompose, disintegrate, fester, foul, mold, molder, perish [chiefly British], putrefy, rot

Words Related to spoil

sour, turn, turn off [British]

contaminate, defile, pollute, taint

addle, curdle, ferment

mortify

rust

crumble, decline, degenerate, descend, deteriorate, dilapidate, sink, wither

Phrases Synonymous with spoil

fall apart, go to seed (or run to seed)

Near Antonyms of spoil

age, develop, grow, mature, ripen

refresh, renew, restore

cleanse, purify

assemble, compose, integrate

ameliorate, better, improve, meliorate

3 to reduce the soundness, effectiveness, or perfection of

know when to stop, for an unnecessary brushstroke can spoil a painted portrait

Synonyms of spoil

blemish, bloody, break, compromise, crab, cripple, cross (up), damage, deface, disfigure, endamage, flaw, harm, hurt, impair, injure, mar, vitiate

Words Related to spoil

deteriorate, enervate, enfeeble, undermine, weaken

erode, scour, wash out, wear (away)

blight, tarnish

dent, ding, dint

botch, gum (up), queer

lacerate, wound

disable, hamstring, lame, maim, mangle, mutilate, torment, torture

annihilate, bang up, bash, batter, clobber, crush, dash, decimate, demolish, desolate, destroy, devastate, do in, pulverize, raze, ruin, scourge, shatter, smash, tear down, total, waste, wipe out, wreck

Near Antonyms of spoil

cure, heal, help, rectify, rehabilitate, remedy

edit, remodel, revise

ameliorate, better, enhance, enrich, improve, meliorate, perfect, refine

Antonyms of spoil

doctor, fix, mend, patch, rebuild, recondition, reconstruct, renovate, repair, revamp

4 to treat with great or excessive care

when they were newlyweds, the wife tended to spoil her husband, but she soon got over that

Synonyms of spoil

baby, cocker, coddle, cosset, dandle, indulge, mollycoddle, nurse, pamper, wet-nurse

Words Related to spoil

cater (to), humor

content, delight, gladden, gratify, mother, oblige, please, satisfy

appease, mollify, pacify, placate, soothe

Near Antonyms of spoil

control, discipline, restrain

oppress

neglect, overlook, slight

molest, outrage, violate

harass, harm, hurt, injure, oppress, persecute, torment, torture, victimize

Antonyms of spoil

abuse, ill-treat, ill-use, maltreat, manhandle, mishandle, mistreat, misuse

Synonym Discussion of spoil

decay, decompose, rot, putrefy, spoil mean to undergo destructive dissolution. decay implies a slow change from a state of soundness or perfection.

- a decaying mansion

decompose stresses a breaking down by chemical change and when applied to organic matter a corruption.

- the strong odor of decomposing vegetation

rot is a close synonym of decompose and often connotes foulness.

- fruit was left to rot in warehouses

putrefy implies the rotting of animal matter and offensiveness to sight and smell.

- corpses putrefying on the battlefield

spoil applies chiefly to the decomposition of foods.

- keep the ham from spoiling

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See words that rhyme with spoil Dictionary: Definition of spoil Spanish Central: Translation of spoil Nglish: Translation of spoil for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of spoil for Arabic speakers

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Thesaurus

spoil

Synonyms and Antonyms of spoil

Synonym Discussion of spoil

spoil

Synonyms and Antonyms of spoil

Synonym Discussion of spoil

Learn More about spoil

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