| English Dictionary |
SPOILED
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
| IPA (US): |  |
Dictionary entry overview: What does spoiled mean?
• SPOILED (adjective)
The adjective SPOILED has 2 senses:
1. having the character or disposition harmed by pampering or oversolicitous attention
2. (of foodstuffs) not in an edible or usable condition
Familiarity information: SPOILED used as an adjective is rare.
Dictionary entry details
Sense 1
Meaning:
Having the character or disposition harmed by pampering or oversolicitous attention
Synonyms:
spoiled; spoilt
Context example:
a spoiled child
Similar:
ill-natured (having an irritable and unpleasant disposition)
Sense 2
Meaning:
(of foodstuffs) not in an edible or usable condition
Synonyms:
Context example:
a refrigerator full of spoilt food
Similar:
stale (lacking freshness, palatability, or showing deterioration from age)
Context examples
People tell me that I have spoiled him.
(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Quelala was much too wise not to swim, and he was not in the least spoiled by all his good fortune.
(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)
I was put to bed: however, I received no other damage than the loss of a suit of clothes, which was utterly spoiled.
(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)
"I don't know what you mean, then. You admire their voices, yet say they spoiled the music."
(Martin Eden, by Jack London)
Emma is spoiled by being the cleverest of her family.
(Emma, by Jane Austen)
Then he's rich and generous and good, and loves us all, and I say it's a pity my plan is spoiled.
(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)
She let her legs go limp like a spoiled child, and sat down on the trail.
(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)
The hunting, for us, was spoiled.
(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)
"You've spoiled everything, Ned," she said.
(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
I thought there were excellent materials in him; though for the present they hung together somewhat spoiled and tangled.
(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)
| Learn English with... Proverbs |
"If there is no financial involvement between relatives, the relationship is harmonious." (Bhutanese proverb)
"Every day of your life is a page of your history." (Arabic proverb)
"He who leaves and then returns, had a good trip." (Corsican proverb)