Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
dictionary thesaurus

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

Learn More about spoil

  1. 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

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up spoil? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show comments hide comments

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

WORD OF THE DAY

gargantuan

tremendous in size, volume, or degree

Get Word of the Day daily email!

TRENDING NOW

  1. cache BuzzFeed reports on Trump-Cohen documents.

  2. intransigence, intransigent Trump cancels Davos trip.

  3. white supremacist Steve King discusses views.

SEE ALL

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

Ask the Editors

Word Games