spoiling 1 of 3

adjective

as in spoiled

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

spoiling

2 of 3

noun

as in rotting

Related Words

Dissimilar Words

spoiling

3 of 3

verb

present participle of spoil
1
as in marring
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 decomposing
to go through decomposition the meat has spoiled

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in damaging
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 indulging
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 spoiling
Noun
Food and drink Wilderness is known for serving polished but healthy modern bush fare that’s tasty and spoiling, but not overly rich. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 23 Apr. 2026
Verb
London — Cyberattacks on grocery store refrigeration systems across Europe sent temperatures soaring on Monday, spoiling food and causing significant financial losses in the second such incident in less than a month. — Inaya Folarin Iman, CBS News, 4 Nov. 2026 Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images European supermarkets have become the center of another cyberattack, with hackers remotely heating fridges and spoiling food. — Sawdah Bhaimiya, CNBC, 3 Nov. 2026 French authorities are still piecing together the mystery of how and why hackers targeted supermarket refrigerators around the country, spoiling millions of euros’ worth of food. — Julia Black, Vanity Fair, 27 Oct. 2026 But there were also drawbacks, mainly a fear of accidentally spoiling certain events that occur in season six. — Lisa De Los Reyes, HollywoodReporter, 21 Oct. 2026 Without spoiling the big second-act reveal, no one in this play – or in the audience – has an unchallengeable claim on the truth. — Greg Evans, Deadline, 18 Oct. 2026 In Season Two, the couple dealt with making the relationship work, which culminates in tensions between the pair — and without totally spoiling it, suffice to say that does not end so well. — Althea Legaspi, Rolling Stone, 16 Oct. 2026 The Dodgers left-hander had just given up the lead on Bauers’ two-run homer, spoiling what had been a stellar start Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium. — Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2026 Hackers raised the temperature of refrigerators and freezers ​at hundreds of French supermarkets to as high as 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit), causing fires and spoiling food. — CNN Money, 12 Oct. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spoiling
  1. spoiled
  2. decay
  3. marring
  4. decomposing
  5. damaging
  6. indulging
  7. rotten
  8. disintegration
Adjective
  • Becoming sick from eating spoiled yogurt is uncommon, but yogurt can grow harmful microbes when left out of refrigeration or kept too long.
    — Amber J. Tresca, Verywell Health, 31 Oct. 2026
  • When Harry boosts a USB crypto wallet from a brazen young criminal and spoiled rich kid, Dylan (Will Price), Ben has no idea what to do with it—plugging it into his circa-1995 desktop personal computer sends the machine into a tailspin.
    — Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 30 Oct. 2026
Definition of spoiled
Noun
  • But he was plagued by guilt over his ancestor’s role in the trials, and felt compelled to explore themes of human character, greed, and social decay through his work.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 23 Oct. 2026
  • About 1 in 5 adults ages 20 to 64 has at least one untreated cavity, and nearly all adults 65 and older have dealt with tooth decay at some point, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
    — Ryan Brennan, Sacbee.com, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of decay
Verb
  • The Trib is withholding Nick’s full name to avoid marring his reputation in the eyes of future employers or others who might run a search on him.
    — Kate Payne, Miami Herald, 30 Sep. 2026
  • The latter track takes overt inspiration from Sofia Coppola’s 2006 film Marie Antoinette, as Jepsen beckons her love to engage in life’s vices with her, like marring bedsheets with fruit stains and dashing nude through the garden.
    — Jaeden Pinder, Rolling Stone, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of marring
Verb
  • The body of 76-year-old Ronald Tyler was already decomposing by the time his daughter Terri found out where he was being stored.
    — Dave Savini, CBS News, 27 Oct. 2026
  • If soil amendment is needed, first add compost and decomposing leaves to the garden soil.
    — Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of decomposing
Verb
  • The ship dragged its anchor along the seabed for about 80 miles, damaging two telecommunications cables, according to a court statement.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 5 Nov. 2026
  • Kennedy’s fringe beliefs, such as his zealous anti-vaccine views, his rejection of germ theory, and his false claim that 5G is damaging our brains and causing cancer.
    — Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 5 Nov. 2026
Definition of damaging
Verb
  • Shaw’s witty drawing-room debates also warn of a society indulging its whims as catastrophe approaches — a question of how to live when the world careens toward darkness.
    — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 28 Oct. 2026
  • Adults aren’t always used to indulging this kind of curiosity.
    — Angela Haupt, Time, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of indulging
Adjective
  • Over the last decade, local government warehouses meant to store emergency food supplies have been found empty or filled with rotten supplies, largely because of corruption.
    — JOEL WUTHNOW, Foreign Affairs, 2 Nov. 2026
  • Since January 2023, the South Coast Air Quality Management District has received more than 28,000 complaints, many of which describe the foul smell as rotten, putrid and stomach-churning.
    — Matthew Rodriguez, CBS News, 28 Oct. 2026
Definition of rotten
Noun
  • When this disintegration occurs, toxic components of the muscle fibers can enter the circulatory system and kidneys, which can cause kidney damage, essentially acting as poison to the body.
    — Angelica Stabile, FOXNews.com, 3 Nov. 2026
  • Banquo doesn’t have to do or say a thing to trigger Macbeth’s disintegration.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of disintegration

Browse Nearby Words

spoil (for)
spoiling
spoiling (for)
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Spoiling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spoiling. Accessed 8 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

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

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of cockamamie

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Old-Timey Vehicles

The Words of the Week - Nov. 6

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
woman sitting on floor holding book in front of her face on pink background
Famous Novels, Last Lines Quiz Needless to say, spoiler alert.
See All