spoil

1 to affect slightly with something morally bad or undesirable too much coddling will spoil the child Synonyms blemish, darken, mar, poison, taint, stain, tarnish, touch, vitiateRelated Words 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, twistNear Antonyms cleanse, purify; dignify, elevate, ennoble, enshrine, glorify, hallow, magnify, uplift

2 to go through decomposition the meat has spoiled Synonyms break down, corrupt, decompose, disintegrate, fester, foul, mold, molder, perish [chiefly British], putrefy, rot, decayRelated Words sour, turn, turn off [British]; contaminate, defile, pollute, taint; addle, curdle, ferment; mortify; rust; crumble, decline, degenerate, descend, deteriorate, dilapidate, sink, witherNear Antonyms 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 blemish, bloody, break, compromise, crab, cripple, cross (up), deface, disfigure, endamage, flaw, harm, hurt, impair, injure, mar, damage, vitiateRelated Words 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, wreckNear Antonyms cure, heal, help, rectify, rehabilitate, remedy; edit, remodel, revise; ameliorate, better, enhance, enrich, improve, meliorate, perfect, refineAntonyms 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 cocker, coddle, cosset, dandle, indulge, mollycoddle, nurse, pamper, baby, wet-nurseRelated Words cater (to), humor; content, delight, gladden, gratify, mother, oblige, please, satisfy; appease, mollify, pacify, placate, sootheNear Antonyms control, discipline, restrain; oppress; neglect, overlook, slight; molest, outrage, violate; harass, harm, hurt, injure, oppress, persecute, torment, torture, victimizeAntonyms abuse, ill-treat, ill-use, maltreat, manhandle, mishandle, mistreat, misuse