dandling

verb

present participle of dandle
as in spoiling
to treat with great or excessive care the college president is a past master at dandling wealthy alumni

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 dandling The tale is pilfered from the Aeneid, but Virgil would blench to see the curtain rise on Jupiter, dandling Ganymede, a beautiful boy, upon his knee. — Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 8 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dandling
  1. spoiling
  2. nursing
  3. indulging
  4. cosseting
  5. babying
  6. pampering
  7. coddling
Verb
  • But there were also drawbacks, mainly a fear of accidentally spoiling certain events that occur in season six.
    — Lisa de los Reyes, HollywoodReporter, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Without spoiling the big second-act reveal, no one in this play – or in the audience – has an unchallengeable claim on the truth.
    — Greg Evans, Deadline, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of spoiling
Verb
  • The Saints could be without star quarterback Brailon Davis who’s nursing an injury, but backup Bodie Brown has stepped in and completed 32 of 45 for 454 yards and seven touchdowns in the past two games.
    — Darren Lauber, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 22 Oct. 2026
  • Orlando has spent decades nursing an enormous inferiority complex to the bigger, older, richer, and more historically relevant cities in Florida, the Southeast, and the East Coast.
    — Letters to the Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of nursing
Verb
  • Adults aren’t always used to indulging this kind of curiosity.
    — Angela Haupt, Time, 20 Oct. 2026
  • His current employer is Damien Cantor, an authentically sleazy and slippery character who operates under no discernible code beyond indulging a dumb, preening narcissism.
    — Scott Tobias, Vulture, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of indulging
Verb
  • Everywhere are cosseting details like stiffer mounting bushes and extra damping bars.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Let the explosion of vintage typewriters suspended from the giant wall abutting the check-in desk be your first clue as to what this contemporary but cosseting boutique property is all about.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 27 Sep. 2026
Definition of cosseting
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
Verb
  • For all its glamour, Concorde offered more prestige than pampering.
    — Robb Report, Robb Report, 9 Oct. 2026
  • The vintage architecture of the 130-year-old hotel is a pastiche of Gothic Revival turrets and arches, a stone castle masquerading as what is arguably the world's most luxurious and pampering ski hotel.
    — Everett Potter, Forbes.com, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of pampering
Verb
  • League brass can keep coddling bitter media figures, or stand up for the fans paying for tickets.
    — Alejandro Avila OutKick, FOXNews.com, 9 Oct. 2026
  • The gentle, foaming elixir feels soft on skin, rinsing away dirt and makeup while hydrating and coddling with flaxseed oil.
    — Elizabeth Siegel, Allure, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of coddling

Browse Nearby Words

dandles
dandling
dandy
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Cite this Entry

“Dandling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dandling. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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