wet-nursing

verb

present participle of wet-nurse
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for wet-nursing
  1. nursing
  2. spoiling
  3. indulging
Verb
  • The teen has only one goal while putting 10 shots on target after coming into this World Cup still nursing a left hamstring issue.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 13 July 2026
  • Upon coming to America, Shirley taught herself English and began nursing school before starting out in Michigan.
    — Caroline Blair, PEOPLE, 8 July 2026
Definition of nursing
Verb
  • Without spoiling too much, Rick and Morty make a cameo in the pilot in a very meta scene.
    — Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 6 July 2026
  • At a certain point, the admiration for Paraguay’s underdog defiance and spoiling strategy gave way to exasperation.
    — Adam Crafton, New York Times, 5 July 2026
Definition of spoiling
Verb
  • On that note, resist the urge to bury discomfort by indulging, shopping or being stubbornly silent.
    — Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 8 July 2026
  • Will blamed Cal for the idea; Cal, Will for indulging it; both of them the other for not being the one dead.
    — Emily Ruskovich, The Atlantic, 7 July 2026
Definition of indulging
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.

Browse Nearby Words

wet-nurses
wet-nursing
wets
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Cite this Entry

“Wet-nursing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wet-nursing. Accessed 20 Jul. 2026.

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