Library / English Dictionary

INDULGE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Yield (to); give satisfaction to

Synonyms:

gratify; indulge; pander

Classified under:

Verbs of eating and drinking

Hypernyms (to "indulge" is one way to...):

cater; ply; provide; supply (give what is desired or needed, especially support, food or sustenance)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "indulge"):

humor; humour (put into a good mood)

spree (engage without restraint in an activity and indulge, as when shopping)

sow one's oats; sow one's wild oats (live promiscuously and self-indulgently)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something

Sentence example:

Sam cannot indulge Sue

Derivation:

indulgence (a disposition to yield to the wishes of someone)

indulging (the act of indulging or gratifying a desire)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Enjoy to excess

Example:

She indulges in ice cream

Synonyms:

indulge; luxuriate

Classified under:

Verbs of eating and drinking

Hypernyms (to "indulge" is one way to...):

consume; deplete; eat; eat up; exhaust; run through; use up; wipe out (use up (resources or materials))

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "indulge"):

surfeit (indulge (one's appetite) to satiety)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sentence example:

They indulge themselves

Derivation:

indulgence (an inability to resist the gratification of whims and desires)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Give free rein to

Example:

The writer indulged in metaphorical language

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "indulge"):

wallow (devote oneself entirely to something; indulge in to an immoderate degree, usually with pleasure)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s PP

Derivation:

indulgence (the act of indulging or gratifying a desire)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Treat with excessive indulgence

Example:

Let's not mollycoddle our students!

Synonyms:

baby; cocker; coddle; cosset; featherbed; indulge; mollycoddle; pamper; spoil

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Hypernyms (to "indulge" is one way to...):

do by; handle; treat (interact in a certain way)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody

Derivation:

indulgence; indulging (the act of indulging or gratifying a desire)

Credits

 Context examples: 

“I think, Watson, we cannot do better. Do not allow yourself to indulge in false hopes, Mr. Phelps. The affair is a very tangled one.”

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Whenever I looked towards the past, I saw some duty neglected, or some failing indulged.

(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)

To cast in my lot with Jekyll, was to die to those appetites which I had long secretly indulged and had of late begun to pamper.

(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

And since you draw so large a sum as a hundred a year, with what you earn into the bargain, you no doubt travel a little and indulge yourself in every way.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Book an hour at the spa, for you will be craving a bit of luxury, and early January will offer you the chance to indulge.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

And for the space of several minutes he lay there, quiet, indulging his grotesque fancy.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

Another part of the fruit fly study shows that avoiding excess calorie intake, basically not over-indulging in too much carbohydrate and fat, may reduce levels of proinflammatory proteins.

(Defending against environmental stressors may shorten lifespan, National Institutes of Health)

“That is,” replied Mr. Knightley, “she will indulge her even more than she did you, and believe that she does not indulge her at all. It will be the only difference.”

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

Whether his spirits were elevated by the communication I had made to him, or by his having indulged in this retrospect, I don't know; but they were raised by some influence.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

She had been indulged from her birth, but was not absolutely spoilt.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)