as in to spoil
to treat with great or excessive care
refused to mollycoddle her malingering son and sent him off to school
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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This mollycoddled outdated practices, like harvesting by hand.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
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This mollycoddled outdated practices, like harvesting by hand.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
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Dodge won't spoil the surprise by confirming if the last one will be based on the Charger or the Challenger (or maybe both), but the evidence suggests the latter is more likely.—
Jack Fitzgerald,
Car and Driver,
13 Feb. 2023
-
Farmers’ broiler chickens suffocate, and dairy products spoil.—
Monica Mark,
The Christian Science Monitor,
10 Feb. 2023
Verb
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At this historical moment, middle- and upper-class European women were increasingly urged to nurse their own babies for growing fear that wet nurses—usually of lower social rank, and sometimes another race—contributed to infant mortality.—
The Editors,
JSTOR Daily,
13 Mar. 2025
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With Concerning Elbow Injury Rafael Devers Injury: Alex Cora Gives Concerning Update On Red Sox Star Devers has been nursing a shoulder injury which hampered him in 2024.—
Raja Krishnamoorthi,
Newsweek,
12 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
Pileggi can’t write outside of his own sandbox, which means that DeNiro indulges the usual nefariousness.—
Armond White,
National Review,
21 Mar. 2025
-
Go the practical route and indulge her with a new pan from one of our favorite brands.—
Brie Schwartz,
Glamour,
19 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
Her pain and rage, her desire to be coddled and loved all announced itself with a furious punk purity.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
22 Mar. 2025
-
Lucy was coddled to the point of depriving her of developing basic life skills.—
R. Eric Thomas,
Chicago Tribune,
4 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
While her older brother, Crown Prince Hussein, is the heir to the throne, Iman is not in the line of succession—and neither may her baby.—
Janine Henni,
People.com,
24 Jan. 2025
-
The sensitive child of the bunch doesn’t need to be babied.—
Victoria Uwumarogie,
Essence,
28 Nov. 2023
Verb
-
Right here, inches from our noses, are observations, memories, and relationships—people to please—that can generate the kind of richness that Brainard brings to his work.—
David S. Wallace,
The New Yorker,
19 Mar. 2025
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My dad was going to engineering school at Columbia [to please] his father.—
Eric Ryan,
Forbes,
18 Mar. 2025
Verb
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After recovering from Hurricane Helene, the opulent, castle-like inn is back to pampering guests at every turn.—
Lisa Cericola,
Southern Living,
11 Mar. 2025
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Despite the luxury and pampering the resort has to offer, the true highlight of Platte Island is the Indian Ocean itself.—
Jason Chau,
Travel + Leisure,
9 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Mollycoddle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mollycoddle. Accessed 1 Apr. 2025.
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