MOLLYCODDLE Synonyms: 51 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: How does the verb 'mollycoddle' contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of mollycoddle are baby , humor , indulge , pamper , and spoil . While all these words mean "to show undue favor to a person's desires and feelings," mollycoddle suggests an excessive degree of care and attention to another's health or welfare. // refused to mollycoddle her malingering son

Q: In what contexts can 'baby' take the place of 'mollycoddle'?

The synonyms baby and mollycoddle are sometimes interchangeable, but baby suggests excessive care, attention, or solicitude. // babying students by grading too easily

Q: When would 'humor' be a good substitute for 'mollycoddle'?

While in some cases nearly identical to mollycoddle , humor stresses a yielding to a person's moods or whims. // humored him by letting him tell the story

Q: When might 'indulge' be a better fit than 'mollycoddle'?

In some situations, the words indulge and mollycoddle are roughly equivalent. However, indulge implies excessive compliance and weakness in gratifying another's or one's own desires. // indulged myself with food at the slightest excuse

Q: When can 'pamper' be used instead of 'mollycoddle'?

Although the words pamper and mollycoddle have much in common, pamper implies inordinate gratification of desire for luxury and comfort with consequent enervating effect. // pampered by the amenities of modern living

Q: Where would 'spoil' be a reasonable alternative to 'mollycoddle'?

The meanings of spoil and mollycoddle largely overlap; however, spoil stresses the injurious effects on character by indulging or pampering. // foolish parents spoil their children

mollycoddle

verb

ˈmä-lē-ˌkä-dᵊl

Definition of mollycoddle

as in to spoil

to treat with great or excessive care refused to mollycoddle her malingering son and sent him off to school

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How does the verb mollycoddle contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of mollycoddle are baby, humor, indulge, pamper, and spoil. While all these words mean "to show undue favor to a person's desires and feelings," mollycoddle suggests an excessive degree of care and attention to another's health or welfare.

refused to mollycoddle her malingering son

In what contexts can baby take the place of mollycoddle?

The synonyms baby and mollycoddle are sometimes interchangeable, but baby suggests excessive care, attention, or solicitude.

babying students by grading too easily

When would humor be a good substitute for mollycoddle?

While in some cases nearly identical to mollycoddle, humor stresses a yielding to a person's moods or whims.

humored him by letting him tell the story

When might indulge be a better fit than mollycoddle?

In some situations, the words indulge and mollycoddle are roughly equivalent. However, indulge implies excessive compliance and weakness in gratifying another's or one's own desires.

indulged myself with food at the slightest excuse

When can pamper be used instead of mollycoddle?

Although the words pamper and mollycoddle have much in common, pamper implies inordinate gratification of desire for luxury and comfort with consequent enervating effect.

pampered by the amenities of modern living

Where would spoil be a reasonable alternative to mollycoddle?

The meanings of spoil and mollycoddle largely overlap; however, spoil stresses the injurious effects on character by indulging or pampering.

foolish parents spoil their children

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 mollycoddle You’re not mollycoddled during the week and are expected to act as any professional crew member would. — Helen Iatrou, Robb Report, 14 Sep. 2023 So football generally, and pro football specifically, helped reassure the country that American men were not mollycoddled softies. — James Surowiecki, New York Times, 19 Dec. 2019 Koenig may have supported Bernie Sanders in 2016, but Sanders’s mollycoddling platform never approaches the real-life perplexities that Koenig — a pop poet — sings about. — Armond White, National Review, 10 Dec. 2019 Her poise is the result of a loving yet punctilious upbringing by parents determined that their fame and its accompanying perks were not going to mollycoddle their two children. — Michael Callahan, Town & Country, 1 Aug. 2018 Both sides are mollycoddling their own predicaments with this talk. — Chad Pergram, Fox News, 15 Mar. 2018 This mollycoddled outdated practices, like harvesting by hand. — The Economist, 14 Dec. 2017

Recent Examples of Synonyms for mollycoddle

Verb

This happens when the fruit is left on the ground too long and begins to spoil.

— SJ McShane, Martha Stewart, 29 Aug. 2026
Food spoiled during the outage, and the family temporarily relocated to Lucky’s mother’s home.

— Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 29 Aug. 2026

Definition of spoil

Verb

Scott had similarly worked with Flynn and Colman before, as well as Billie Piper, who’s magnetic as the famed casting director Patsy Pollack, who nursed Charleson in his last days.

— David Canfield, HollywoodReporter, 31 Aug. 2026
By the end of the round, Hrgović was nursing a cut above his right eyebrow — a worrying sign for a man whose June 2024 fight against Daniel Dubois was stopped because of cuts above both his eyebrows.

— Sarah Shephard, New York Times, 30 Aug. 2026

Definition of nurse

Verb

North Carolina politician says Democrats are coddling criminals Records also list a September 2025 simple-assault charge and a March 2025 charge of assault on a female.

— Greg Wehner, FOXNews.com, 8 Aug. 2026
Serrano comes across as someone with no inclination to coddle elite students.

— Nate Anderson, ArsTechnica, 8 July 2026

Definition of coddle

Verb

The unlicensed recovery center underworld ranges from places that pamper patients with space and very personal care by licensed medical professionals to places that cram patients into spaces minded by people with limited or no medical training.

— DAVID J. NEAL, Miami Herald, 31 Aug. 2026
Ask For An Upgrade Moreso than most other vacation stays, all-inclusive resorts exist to pamper their guests.

— Tara Massouleh McCay, Southern Living, 23 Aug. 2026

Definition of pamper

Browse Nearby Words

molls

mollycoddle

mollycoddled

See all Nearby Words

Articles Related to mollycoddle

Fan Favorites: Your Most Liked Words of...

This is a list of the top ten Words of the Day that made you learn, laugh, and look up words a little more in 2023

Rare and Amusing Insults: Cockalorum,...

How dare you called me a ninnyhammer you pillock!

Cite this Entry

Style

“Mollycoddle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mollycoddle. Accessed 3 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of mollycoddle

verb

Synonym Chooser

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Fan Favorites: Your Most Liked Words of...

Rare and Amusing Insults: Cockalorum,...

Podcast

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

recalcitrant

Popular in Grammar & Usage

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

A List of Most Commonly Confused Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Popular in Wordplay

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 4

Popular

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke

Games & Quizzes