1
as in nursing
to give milk to from the breast
wet-nursed the woman's baby until she was well enough to do it herself
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in spoiling
to treat with great or excessive care
recent college grads quickly learn that employers won't wet-nurse them the way that their teachers did
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Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wet-nursing
Verb
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Hodges and his fellow CDU 42 officers stayed in the Capitol Crypt until late that night, sitting cross-legged and leaning against columns, nursing their wounds.—
Jamie Thompson,
The Atlantic,
6 Jan. 2026 -
One possibility is if the pups start developing teeth and nursing the puppies is too painful.—
Dr. John De Jong,
Boston Herald,
4 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Butter crocks are designed with an air-tight seal and a separate space to store water at the bottom that prevents air from reaching the butter, which can lead to spoiling.—
Alicia Geigel,
Southern Living,
7 Jan. 2026
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There is also a fear in Cuba that the developments in Venezuela could cause a deterioration of the quality of life because of power issues, including with spoiling food, trash and mosquitoes.—
Phil Helsel,
NBC news,
4 Jan. 2026
Verb
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What’s gained by indulging our doom?—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
5 Nov. 2025
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But Septime Webre’s choreography is supposed to have the air of wild and sometimes frenzied social dancing, of Charlestons and Fox Trots and Black Bottoms, of indulging the glorious excesses of the 1920s before the greedier side of the American Dream comes crashing down a few years later.—
David Lyman,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
30 Oct. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Wet-nursing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wet-nursing. Accessed 11 Jan. 2026.
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