spoiled
Americanadjective
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(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.
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(of food) having become bad or unfit for use; tainted, rancid, or soured.
Eating spoiled fish causes symptoms that closely resemble an allergic reaction.
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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.
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(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
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of spoiled
Explanation
When a person is spoiled, they're damaged by having been given everything they want. Spoiled people are usually pretty rotten. When food is spoiled, it's also rotten—literally. Spoiled things and spoiled people are both fairly unpleasant. A spoiled child typically whines for something and gets it, becoming used to that kind of over-indulgent treatment. Spoiled milk smells terrible and tastes even worse. This adjective comes from the verb spoil, meaning "ruin" or "destroy"; the idea was that giving in to a child's every whim would ruin him.
Vocabulary lists containing spoiled
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.
I guess USC stands for the University of Spoiled Children.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 22, 2025
Consumer crusader Ralph Nader had just released a 500-page report titled “The Spoiled System.”
From Washington Post • Jun. 13, 2022
Spoiled rice was delivered in the morning in a plastic bag, which he had to use for other purposes because there was no toilet.
From New York Times • Aug. 28, 2021
“I was well cared for, but never this level of berries. Spoiled kids.”
From Slate • Apr. 25, 2021
Spoiled, rude, and selfish was precisely what these children were.
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
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.
