mollycoddling

verb

present participle of mollycoddle
as in spoiling
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

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for mollycoddling
  1. spoiling
  2. indulging
  3. nursing
  4. coddling
  5. babying
Verb
  • CyberLeek is also threatening to post in-game footage spoiling the game’s story.
    — Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 24 Aug. 2026
  • Without spoiling what happens next, the mutants confront Trask, and Mystique assumes his identity to further their mission.
    — Jordan Moreau, Variety, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of spoiling
Verb
  • Remmick, Jimmy Crystal and Larry Lamb share an unrelenting desire to entertain, whether performing music outside a juke joint, indulging amusement with graphic violence or delighting the British reading public with scandal and drama.
    — Daniel D'Addario, Variety, 26 Aug. 2026
  • Whether the race ever happens, the idea is pure Shaq, a celebrity who's renowned for indulging his passions, of which cars are near the top of the list.
    — Terry Baddoo, USA Today, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of indulging
Verb
  • Herrick showed great character to play the full match despite nursing a knock to his right calf.
    — Roshane Thomas, New York Times, 26 Aug. 2026
  • Linebacker unit thinned out by injuries The left ankle injury Trey Moore sustained in Miami’s 26-3 loss to the Giants on Saturday means three of the four viable starters in this unit are nursing an injury.
    — Omar Kelly August 24, Miami Herald, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of nursing
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
  • This lifestyle caused many citizens to accuse the military of coddling the enemy.
    — Helaine Williams, Arkansas Online, 20 June 2026
Definition of coddling
Verb
  • No one’s babying him (at Houston).
    — David Aldridge, New York Times, 21 June 2026
  • Conceivably one or two of them should have already been at Citi Field, but until finally summoning McLean to pitch Saturday, Stearns has been babying them in the minors.
    — Bill Madden, New York Daily News, 16 Aug. 2025
Definition of babying
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

mollycoddles
mollycoddling
molt
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

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

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

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

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

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'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

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
See More

Popular

See More

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

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke
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
skateboard-dog-hat
Wordmaxxing Slang Quiz Give your vocabulary a glow up by getting sendy w...
See All