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spoil

/spɔɪl/noun, verb1 syllable

Spoil means: make a mess of, destroy or ruin.

Synonyms for spoil61

noun, as in the act of stripping and taking by force

spoliation, spoilation, despoilation, despoilment, despoliation

noun, as in the act of spoiling something by causing damage to it

spoiling, spoilage

verb, as in make a mess of, destroy or ruin

botch, bodge, bumble, fumble, botch up, muff, blow, flub, screw up, ball up, muck up, bungle, fluff, bollix
and 9 more, bollix up, bollocks, bollocks up, bobble, mishandle, louse up, foul up, mess up, fuck up

verb, as in treat with excessive indulgence

pamper, featherbed, cosset, cocker, baby, coddle, mollycoddle, indulge

verb, as in hinder or prevent (the efforts, plans, or desires) of

thwart, queer, scotch, foil, cross, frustrate, baffle, bilk

verb, as in destroy and strip of its possession

rape, despoil, violate, plunder

verb, as in make imperfect

mar, impair, deflower, vitiate

verb, as in become unfit for consumption or use

go bad

verb, as in alter from the original

verb, as in have a strong desire or urge to do something

also used for spoil

booty, gangue, slag, tailings

Includes material from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

What does spoil mean?11

verb

1

make a mess of, destroy or ruin“I botched the dinner and we had to eat out”

2

treat with excessive indulgence“grandparents often pamper the children”

3

hinder or prevent (the efforts, plans, or desires) of“What ultimately frustrated every challenger was Ruth's amazing September surge”

4

destroy and strip of its possession“The soldiers raped the beautiful country”

5

make imperfect“nothing marred her beauty”

6

become unfit for consumption or use“the meat must be eaten before it spoils”

7

alter from the original

8

have a strong desire or urge to do something“She is itching to start the project”

noun

1

the act of stripping and taking by force

2

the act of spoiling something by causing damage to it“her spoiling my dress was deliberate”

3

(usually plural) valuables taken by violence (especially in war)“to the victor belong the spoils of the enemy”

Definitions from the Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

What rhymes with spoil?7

one syllable

two syllables

recoil
Show 40 near rhymes

Spoil in a sentence

  • We should harvest these apples now, or they'll spoil.anzart
  • The more we spoil a child, the more problematic he will be.vvv123
  • Successive owners have tinkered the place since then, but they cannot quite spoil it.Cangarejo
  • I hate to spoil your fun, but do you know what time it is?OsoHombre
  • Put this in the refrigerator, so it doesn't spoil.CK
  • Polite language, in a sense, spoils a casual atmosphere.al_ex_an_der
  • I won't let you spoil my good mood.AlanF_US
  • As long as it doesn't spoil the weekend!Dejo

Sentences from Tatoeba, CC BY 2.0 FR, credited to their authors.

Forms of spoil

as a noun

plural
spoils

as a verb

past tense
spoiled
past participle
spoilt
present participle
spoiling
third-person singular
spoils