Synonyms of spoils

spoils 1 of 2

noun

plural of spoil

as in loots

valuables stolen or taken by force

the bandits escaped with their lives but not with the spoils

Synonyms & Similar Words

• loots
• plunders
• treasures
• prizes
• pillages
• swags
• booties
• windfalls
• hauls
• takes
• catches
• pilferages

spoils

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of spoil

1

as in taints

to affect slightly with something morally bad or undesirable

too much coddling will spoil the child

Synonyms & Similar Words

• taints
• poisons
• mars
• stains
• darkens
• touches
• tarnishes
• vitiates
• degrades
• distorts
• corrupts
• discredits
• lowers
• pollutes
• smears
• blemishes
• sullies
• blackens
• dirties
• blurs
• disgraces
• soils
• shames
• besmirches
• discolors
• dishonors
• tars
• clouds
• smudges
• perverts
• cheapens
• debases
• demeans
• debauches
• subverts
• sinks
• besmears
• depraves
• abases
• tarres
• demoralizes
• smirches
• colors
• smuts
• twists
• begrimes
• bastardizes
• fouls

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• purifies
• cleanses
• elevates
• magnifies
• glorifies
• uplifts
• ennobles
• enshrines
• dignifies
• hallows

2

as in decomposes

to go through decomposition

the meat has spoiled

Synonyms & Similar Words

• decomposes
• rots
• disintegrates
• decays
• corrupts
• perishes
• festers
• falls apart
• molds
• deteriorates
• descends
• putrefies
• breaks down
• runs to seed
• crumbles
• sours
• turns
• contaminates
• fouls
• taints
• pollutes
• goes to seed
• molders
• rusts
• ferments
• defiles
• mortifies
• degenerates
• curdles
• turns off
• declines
• sinks
• addles
• withers
• dilapidates

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• ages
• grows
• develops
• ripens
• matures
• restores
• refreshes
• renews
• improves
• purifies
• cleanses
• integrates
• assembles
• composes
• ameliorates
• betters
• meliorates

3

as in damages

to reduce the soundness, effectiveness, or perfection of

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• damages
• injures
• mars
• compromises
• hurts
• cripples
• weakens
• harms
• breaks
• erodes
• impairs
• destroys
• flaws
• vitiates
• disfigures
• ruins
• undermines
• crosses (up)
• bloodies
• defaces
• blemishes
• crabs
• wounds
• deteriorates
• shatters
• endamages
• tarnishes
• enfeebles
• blights
• enervates
• wrecks
• demolishes
• washes out
• wears (away)
• scours
• wastes
• tortures
• batters
• smashes
• devastates
• annihilates
• lacerates
• desolates
• torments
• dents
• botches
• mutilates
• crushes
• wipes out
• decimates
• dings
• maims
• disables
• pulverizes
• totals
• tears down
• clobbers
• mangles
• queers
• bashes
• razes
• gums (up)
• lames
• scourges
• dints
• dashes
• does in
• bangs up
• hamstrings

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• repairs
• doctors
• reconstructs
• rebuilds
• fixes
• helps
• renovates
• revamps
• patches
• reconditions
• heals
• mends
• cures
• remedies
• rectifies
• improves
• rehabilitates
• enhances
• enriches
• revises
• edits
• remodels
• ameliorates
• refines
• perfects
• betters
• meliorates

4

as in indulges

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

• indulges
• pleases
• nurses
• delights
• babies
• pampers
• mothers
• appeases
• coddles
• satisfies
• cossets
• dandles
• contents
• mollycoddles
• humors
• caters (to)
• wet-nurses
• gratifies
• soothes
• cockers
• gladdens
• obliges
• placates
• pacifies
• mollifies

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• abuses
• controls
• misuses
• restrains
• mistreats
• maltreats
• mishandles
• oppresses
• disciplines
• neglects
• violates
• ill-treats
• manhandles
• ill-uses
• overlooks
• harms
• hurts
• outrages
• injures
• slights
• torments
• tortures
• molests
• victimizes
• harasses
• persecutes

Synonym Chooser

How does the noun spoils differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of spoils are booty, loot, plunder, prize, and spoil. While all these words 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

When can booty be used instead of spoils?

In some situations, the words booty and spoils are roughly equivalent. However, booty implies plunder to be shared among confederates.

thieves dividing up their booty

When is it sensible to use loot instead of spoils?

While the synonyms loot and spoils are close in meaning, loot applies especially to what is taken from victims of a catastrophe.

picked through the ruins for loot

In what contexts can plunder take the place of spoils?

Although the words plunder and spoils have much in common, plunder applies to what is taken not only in war but in robbery, banditry, grafting, or swindling.

a bootlegger's plunder

When might prize be a better fit than spoils?

The meanings of prize and spoils largely overlap; however, prize applies to spoils captured on the high seas or territorial waters of the enemy.

the wartime right of seizing prizes at sea

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of spoils

Noun

Many middle-income consumers own homes and have shared the spoils from rising property values, Zandi said. —Daniel De Visé, USA Today, 25 Sep. 2025

Instead, what outsiders mistake as a lack of control is usually careful management of who gets to steal and how the spoils are distributed. —Zephyr Teachout, The Atlantic, 22 Sep. 2025

Yet leagues and players have a long history of hashing out how to fairly divide the spoils of their joint efforts, sometimes more amicably than others. —Chris Deubert, Forbes.com, 19 Sep. 2025

The image of your mother being too sleepy to enjoy the spoils of her own hard work—or to even be fully present as her children enjoyed those spoils—struck me as such a succinct encapsulation of her sacrifice and her heroism, as well as their drawbacks. —G'ra Asim september 16, Literary Hub, 16 Sep. 2025

Drescher had intended the fund to be a means of distributing the spoils of the streaming era among a large group of union members, as THR reported at the time. —Katie Kilkenny, HollywoodReporter, 12 Sep. 2025

Despite being outnumbered 50-to-1 by the Five Families of the Italian mafia, The Westies’ legendary brutality and cunning have given them the leverage necessary to share the spoils through a fragile détente. —Denise Petski, Deadline, 9 Sep. 2025

So Wednesday is in one sense part of the spoils of victory, the rewards for beating Manchester United in that famous final. —Jack Pitt-Brooke, New York Times, 12 Aug. 2025

Along the way, commentators have scuttled important details, understating or overstating the movement's potential spoils and perils. —Jerel Ezell, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 Aug. 2025

Verb

Nothing spoils a Sunday afternoon outside with the family quite like your youngest child being carried off by a horde of maladjusted howler monkeys. —Paul Cappiello, Louisville Courier Journal, 24 Sep. 2025

Pre-cut produce also spoils quicker and could pick up pathogens when sliced open. —Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 23 Sep. 2025

Farmers don’t typically grow pawpaws because the raw fruit spoils easily and is difficult to ship, according to the Kansas State University E​xtension Office. —Eleanor Nash, Kansas City Star, 28 Aug. 2025

This post spoils the entirety of My Life With the Walter Boys Season 2, specifically the finale. —Dessi Gomez, Deadline, 28 Aug. 2025

The Dolphins quarterback leaves undefeated, as the defense spoils Mike Vrabel’s first trip to Hard Rock Stadium as New England’s head coach. —Miami Herald, 26 Aug. 2025