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Synonyms

spoiled

American  
[spoild] / spɔɪld /

adjective

  1. (of a person, especially a child) indulged excessively or pampered, with a harmful effect on character.

    Her grandfather is a rough, no-nonsense farmer with little patience for a spoiled kid from the city.

  2. (of food) having become bad or unfit for use; tainted, rancid, or soured.

    Eating spoiled fish causes symptoms that closely resemble an allergic reaction.

  3. severely damaged or harmed, especially in a way that reduces value, usefulness, excellence, enjoyment, etc.; marred or ruined.

    His new book, Fly Fishing Tips for the Desperate, can help turn a spoiled fishing trip into a successful one.

  4. (of a ballot) disqualified by being marked in an improper way or otherwise marred or defaced.

    If you make a mistake on your absentee ballot, return it to the auditor with "spoiled ballot” on the envelope and request a replacement.

verb

  1. a simple past tense and past participle of spoil.

Other Word Forms

  • unspoiled adjective

Etymology

Origin of spoiled

spoil ( def. ) + -ed 2 ( def. )

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Pandaram, meanwhile, is an uxorious family man struggling to marry off a spoiled daughter, and the story turns on the scams and deceptions he faces in arranging her future.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 8, 2026

There’s no reaching past something sticky or spoiled, no quiet dread lurking in the crisper drawer.

From Salon • Mar. 19, 2026

Littler repeated his 'Big Fish' antics in the final, as he spoiled the home celebrations in the Welsh capital to mark his first success of the Premier League season.

From BBC • Mar. 5, 2026

This slim, powerful novel could be spoiled by too much information, but lingering too long on the 60-something narrator’s encounter with a teenager that makes her remember her own teenaged self — seems too simple.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 3, 2026

Her son was a spoiled “billionaire brat” who’d spent a million on a concert that had lasted twenty minutes.

From "Millionaires for the Month" by Stacey McAnulty

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.