as in rotten
having undergone organic breakdown
spoiled milk
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
variants
or chiefly British spoilt
1
as in tainted
to affect slightly with something morally bad or undesirable
too much coddling will spoil the child
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in decomposed
to go through decomposition
the meat has spoiled
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in damaged
to reduce the soundness, effectiveness, or perfection of
know when to stop, for an unnecessary brushstroke can spoil a painted portrait
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in indulged
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 & Similar Words
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 spoiled
Arkansas Online, 21 June 2026
However, officials remain concerned about biohazards potentially posed by spoiled food, including bread, poultry, pork and beef.
—Los Angeles Times, 20 June 2026
Carter says the outages created additional expenses for her family, including replacing spoiled food and purchasing ice and coolers to preserve groceries.
—Tori Mason, CBS News, 17 June 2026
In a lawsuit filed against ICE last year, another former detainee said he was served spoiled milk.
—Seth Klamann, Denver Post, 9 June 2026
Cleaning up bird seed, spoiled fruit, and other easy sources of food is the best way to reduce rodent problems and deter the ticks that use rodents as hosts.
—Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 7 June 2026
Taken together, the blank or spoiled ballots would have comfortably won the April vote, and the blank votes alone would have beaten thirty-four of the thirty-five candidates.
—Daniel Alarcón, New Yorker, 4 June 2026
The cast were not unlike the spoiled rich city kids and their parents experiencing rugged Montana for the first time in Sheridan’s story.
—Anne Thompson, IndieWire, 4 June 2026
Five more words are ‘spoiled brat theatre kid energy’.
—Tim Spiers, New York Times, 3 June 2026
Jenny Berg, Vogue, 22 June 2026
The rally spoiled the major-league debut of Arizona's José Cabrera.
—CBS News, 21 June 2026
Food and drink With 10 bars and restaurants, including the lobby cafe and one in the attached Beymen Mall, guests are spoiled for choice.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 17 June 2026
Consequently, between Dick’s stubborn disposition and the fun the Indians had, Dick never worked much and was spoiled rotten.
—Dolores Brown, Outdoor Life, 17 June 2026
In Capri, meanwhile, you’re spoiled for choice.
—Laura Itzkowitz, Travel + Leisure, 14 June 2026
O’Hara, who played spoiled, eccentric housewife Moira Rose, and Elliott, who played quirky town mayor Roland Schitt, shared the screen for the entirety of the series.
—Janey Wetzel, PEOPLE, 13 June 2026
Boualem Khoukhi scored an equalizing goal on a header in the fourth minute of stoppage time, and Qatar spoiled a dominant day by Switzerland in a 1-1 draw Saturday in Group B of the World Cup.
—ABC News, 13 June 2026
Her clutch 3-pointer nearly spoiled the synergy of Boston and Clark, but when the game hung in the balance, the Fever’s franchise pillars went to a level no other duo in the league has reached.
—James Boyd, New York Times, 12 June 2026
Adjective
Moore cautioned people with lung issues or smoke sensitivity to avoid outdoor activities, but said crews have mitigated the hazardous-materials portion of the blaze and are now focused on the biohazard portion posed by spoiled food.
—Arkansas Online, 21 June 2026
However, officials remain concerned about biohazards potentially posed by spoiled food, including bread, poultry, pork and beef.
—Los Angeles Times, 20 June 2026
Carter says the outages created additional expenses for her family, including replacing spoiled food and purchasing ice and coolers to preserve groceries.
—Tori Mason, CBS News, 17 June 2026
In a lawsuit filed against ICE last year, another former detainee said he was served spoiled milk.
—Seth Klamann, Denver Post, 9 June 2026
Cleaning up bird seed, spoiled fruit, and other easy sources of food is the best way to reduce rodent problems and deter the ticks that use rodents as hosts.
—Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 7 June 2026
Taken together, the blank or spoiled ballots would have comfortably won the April vote, and the blank votes alone would have beaten thirty-four of the thirty-five candidates.
—Daniel Alarcón, New Yorker, 4 June 2026
The cast were not unlike the spoiled rich city kids and their parents experiencing rugged Montana for the first time in Sheridan’s story.
—Anne Thompson, IndieWire, 4 June 2026
Five more words are ‘spoiled brat theatre kid energy’.
—Tim Spiers, New York Times, 3 June 2026
Verb
With mature shoppers spoiled for choice, which formulas truly deserve a spot in your cart (not to mention, your beach bag)?
—Jenny Berg, Vogue, 22 June 2026
The rally spoiled the major-league debut of Arizona's José Cabrera.
—CBS News, 21 June 2026
Food and drink With 10 bars and restaurants, including the lobby cafe and one in the attached Beymen Mall, guests are spoiled for choice.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 17 June 2026
Consequently, between Dick’s stubborn disposition and the fun the Indians had, Dick never worked much and was spoiled rotten.
—Dolores Brown, Outdoor Life, 17 June 2026
In Capri, meanwhile, you’re spoiled for choice.
—Laura Itzkowitz, Travel + Leisure, 14 June 2026
O’Hara, who played spoiled, eccentric housewife Moira Rose, and Elliott, who played quirky town mayor Roland Schitt, shared the screen for the entirety of the series.
—Janey Wetzel, PEOPLE, 13 June 2026
Boualem Khoukhi scored an equalizing goal on a header in the fourth minute of stoppage time, and Qatar spoiled a dominant day by Switzerland in a 1-1 draw Saturday in Group B of the World Cup.
—ABC News, 13 June 2026
Her clutch 3-pointer nearly spoiled the synergy of Boston and Clark, but when the game hung in the balance, the Fever’s franchise pillars went to a level no other duo in the league has reached.
—James Boyd, New York Times, 12 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spoiled
Adjective
-
Consequently, between Dick’s stubborn disposition and the fun the Indians had, Dick never worked much and was spoiled rotten.—
Dolores Brown,
Outdoor Life,
17 June 2026
-
Hydrogen sulfide smells like rotten eggs and ammonia gives off notes of urine, sweat or dead fish.—
Bill Kearney,
Sun Sentinel,
12 June 2026
Verb
-
Troupis and Roman both filed motions seeking to relocate the trial from Dane County, which includes Madison, to neighboring Jefferson County, saying negative publicity had tainted the potential jury pool.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
17 June 2026
-
Troupis and Roman both filed motions seeking to relocate the trial from Dane County, which includes Madison, to neighboring Jefferson County, saying negative publicity had tainted the potential jury pool.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
16 June 2026
Verb
-
Prosecutor Cheryl Galvin disagreed, saying that while the body had decomposed, the medical examiner was still able to conclude Chiodo died by homicide due to blunt force and sharp force injuries.—
Evy Lewis,
Chicago Tribune,
10 June 2026
-
Compost is decomposed organic matter, created when microorganisms break down plant materials, food scraps, leaves, manure, and other organic inputs.—
Rae Ford,
Martha Stewart,
8 June 2026
Verb
-
Joshua Serad, of Maple Shade, stole and damaged Pride flags Monday in the business district of Haddonfield on Kings Highway, according to police.—
Tom Ignudo,
CBS News,
24 June 2026
-
Flying bricks damaged the crossing’s signal arms, and the crossing was closed by Union Pacific.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
23 June 2026
Verb
-
This ideal of masculinity is not a patriarch but a perpetual adolescent, endlessly irresponsible and endlessly indulged.—
Helen Lewis,
The Atlantic,
5 June 2026
-
These men considered the loss of control that such behavior implied-an animal urge indulged by weak men lacking the courage to fight other men directly-to be shameful.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
26 May 2026
Verb
-
If a pet is poisoned by a cane toad, there are some warning signs.—
Amaia Gavica,
Miami Herald,
23 June 2026
-
The summer blockbuster, which premieres June 26, will follow Supergirl's three-day mission to obtain a cure for her superdog and friend, Krypto, who is poisoned by villainous alien Krem of the Yellow Hills (Matthias Schoenaerts).—
Jennifer Hassan,
USA Today,
19 June 2026
Verb
-
While the timber has long since rotted away, the posts lined up to point directly at the rising sun during the summer solstice and the setting sun at the winter solstice — in the same way as Stonehenge.—
Elmira Aliieva,
NBC news,
18 June 2026
-
The storm hit Jamaica on August 12, splintering three hundred homes, and 90 percent of banana crops rotted to black in the post-storm humidity.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
16 June 2026
Verb
-
The Toronto Blue Jays' 2026 season has been marred by injuries, with veteran pitcher Max Scherzer facing significant setbacks.—
Peter Chawaga,
Forbes.com,
18 June 2026
-
As Bloomberg recently reported, brides are buying $14 spells from witches on Etsy to ensure that their $100,000 weddings are not marred by blizzards or downpours.—
Maureen Dowd,
Mercury News,
18 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Spoiled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spoiled. Accessed 25 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
