Have you ever been confused by the definition of indulge? This article will provide you with all of the information you need on the word indulge, including its definition, etymology, usage, example sentences, and more!
Your writing, at its best
Compose bold, clear, mistake-free, writing with Grammarly's AI-powered writing assistant
According to Collins English Dictionary, the word indulge is a verb that means to allow, to humor (UK equiv.: humour) or yield to someone or provide stisfaction, often to an immoderate degree, or to provide excessive care or undue favor to someone, sometimes with injurious effects. This inordinate gratification of desire or excessive compliance can also be shown in the related forms the adjective indulgent and the noun indulgence as well as to make the past participle and present participle forms. Indulge is two syllables – in-dulge, abd the pronunciation of indulge is Ɪnˈdʌldʒ.
There are many different languages that use words that mean indulge. You may notice that sometimes different languages have words that are very close to English words or to words of other languages. This is usually because the words share a root or origin. Often, cognates, which are words that look, sound, and mean something similar across languages, are formed when words share an origin. This list of translations for the word indulge is provided by Word Sense.
Dutch: in de watten leggen, verwennen, koesteren
French: dorloter, gâter, choyer
Esperanto: cedi al
What is the origin of indulge?
According to Etymonline, the word indulge comes from the Latin indulgēre. The Latin word indulgēre is also related to the Latin dulgēre and Greek dolikhos.
What are synonyms and antonyms of indulge?
There are a variety of different words that one can use in place of the word indulge. These are called synonyms, which are words and phrases that have the same or a similar meaning as another word or phrase. Synonyms are useful to know if you are trying to expand your vocabulary as well as if you are trying to avoid repeating yourself. This list of synonyms for the word indulge is provided by Power Thesaurus.
let go
coddling
luxuriate
pamper
featherbedding
get tanked up
please
be overbearing
drink alcohol
satisfy
give in to
restraint
pampering
serve
mollycoddle
assuage
featherbed
permit
feather bed
free reign
relieve
cocker
spoiled
quench
humor
give way to
delight
enjoy
feed
meet
humored
rollick
hear of
babied
entertain
yield
assist
slake
condone
gladden
indulge in
compliance
sate
yield to
be game for
regale
cater
overlook
gratify
cosset
revel in
bask
excuse
pet
humour
cosseting
solicitude
caprices
kill with kindness
satiate
hit the bottle
pampered
comfort
baby
booze
appease
tolerate
codle
allow
forgive
accommodate
concession
overindulge
boost
mollify
tipple
spoils
pander
wallow
amuse
drink
oblige
spoiling
wink at
put up with
revel
placate
suffer
pampers
tickle
love
favor
cater to
help
spoil
spoon-feed
gratification
gratifying
pander to
mother
content
coddle
fulfill
carouse
dote on
wallow in
babying
There are also numerous words and phrases that are antonyms for the word indulge. Antonyms are words and phrases that have the opposite meaning as another word or phrase. Opposite words are helpful to know if you are trying to expand your knowledge of the English language. This list of antonyms is provided by Power Thesaurus as well.
maltreat
dispirit
depress
give it to someone
torment
disquiet
ail
make unhappy
check
discompose
mistreat
unnerve
break someone’s heart
give someone the blues
grieve
torture
correct
demoralize
deny
censure for
oppress
dash someone’s hopes
perturb
cast down
dishearten
condemn for
disturb
constrain
haunt
bring tears to someone’s eyes
agitate
drive someone up a wall
chasten
bother
get someone’s goat
sadden
come down on like a ton of bricks
drop on
get someone’s back up
make someone fed up
shake
make gloomy
drive someone up the wall
chastened
deject
counteract
knock the stuffing out of
dismay
harrow
daunt
weigh down
find guilty of
forbear
make sad
make someone’s heart bleed
criticize for
exercise
concern
bring someone to book
deprive
come down on
weigh heavily on
dampen someone’s spirits
burden
distress
accuse of
hurt
discipline
abstain
neglect
break someone’s spirit
hang over
knock sideways
get someone’s dander up
consider guilty of
trouble
worry
upset
bully
afflict
undo
crush
discomfort
assign guilt to
forgo
disappoint
discourage
chastise
give someone what for
make despondent
dash
unsettle
unhinge
desolate
get down
cause suffering to
curb
knock for six
assign fault to
make desolate
How can the word indulge be used in a sentence?
The word indulge can be used in many different sentences in the English language. Using words in a sentence is a great way to memorize their definitions. You can also try making quizzes for yourself or testing yourself with flashcards. Try using this word of the day in a sentence today! Below are several examples of indulge.
The grandparents indulged their grand kid’s own desires and inclinations. One of them spent hours giving grandma an Olympics quiz on her Olympics knowledge of every gold medal that has been awarded in the last ten years while the other talked about dinosaurs for hours yesterday in the big yard.
She decided to indulge for her birthday – reckless spending, unbelievable shopping sprees, and a new habit of giving into temptation. She bought goth clothes and ate rich dessert. Her birthday was all about comfort.
The debtor decided to inndulge the excess extension of time for the deadline of a payment in the holiday spirit.
He decided to indulge in an alcoholic drink at the excellent place to lift the person’s moods. With satiety, sustenance, and public manners, what was the harm?
The foolish parents indulged their child’s sloth and selfishness. This outrageous behavior led to hours on Twitter and Facebook when he would wallow over the curiosity of his ex-girlfriend’s’ new man.
Overall, the word indulge means to allow or humor. This word is of Latin origin.
Kevin Miller is a growth marketer with an extensive background in Search Engine Optimization, paid acquisition and email marketing. He is also an online editor and writer based out of Los Angeles, CA. He studied at Georgetown University, worked at Google and became infatuated with English Grammar and for years has been diving into the language, demystifying the do's and don'ts for all who share the same passion! He can be found online here.