indulge
Americanverb (used without object)
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indulges,
present (3rd person singular)
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indulged,
past participle, past
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indulging
present participle
verb (used with object)
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indulges,
present (3rd person singular)
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indulged,
past participle, past
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indulging
present participle
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to yield to, satisfy, or gratify (desires, feelings, etc.).
to indulge one's appetite for sweets.
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to yield to the wishes or whims of; be lenient or permissive with.
to indulge a child.
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to allow (oneself ) to follow one's will (usually followed byin ).
to indulge oneself in reckless spending.
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Commerce. to grant an extension of time, for payment or performance, to (a person, company, etc.) or on (a bill, note, etc.).
verb
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to yield to or gratify (a whim or desire for)
to indulge a desire for new clothes
to indulge in new clothes
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(tr) to yield to the wishes of; pamper
to indulge a child
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(tr) to allow oneself the pleasure of something
at Christmas he liked to indulge himself
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(tr) commerce to allow (a debtor) an extension of time for payment of (a bill, etc)
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informal (intr) to take alcoholic drink, esp to excess
Synonym Usage
See humor.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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indulgernoun
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reindulgeverb
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preindulgeverb (used with object)
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quasi-indulgedadjective
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unindulgedadjective
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indulginglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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indulgesimple
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indulgessimple
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have indulgedperfect
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has indulgedperfect
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am indulgingprogressive
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are indulgingprogressive
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is indulgingprogressive
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have been indulgingperfect progressive
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has been indulgingperfect progressive
Past
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indulgedsimple
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had indulgedperfect
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was indulgingprogressive
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were indulgingprogressive
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had been indulgingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of indulge
First recorded in 1630–40; from Latin indulgēre “to be lenient toward, to accede, to take pleasure in”
Explanation
Indulge is a verb that means "to give in to something," like when you indulge your craving for chocolate by eating a big piece of it. The original meaning of indulge is "to treat with unearned favor." That's why it doesn't mean the same as reward. Instead, when you indulge, you enjoy or take part in something just because you want to — like indulging in a celebrity gossip magazine: you know you should be doing something more constructive, but you don't care. When you indulge someone else, you go along with whatever they want to do.
Vocabulary lists containing indulge
"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, Chapters 12–15
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Starting Your New Life: Inspiring Words from Commencement Speeches
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The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
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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.
See Examples For:
For the Amicus bonus episode, Dahlia and Mark reunite to indulge Amicus listeners’ biggest questions, like who really writes Supreme Court opinions?
From Slate ● Aug. 13, 2026
Like all humans, investors indulge in magical thinking.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
“It’s fun to be a protagonist who gets to indulge in human weakness, knowing that we hopefully will bring the audience back around to caring about you.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
Summer, a season of good eats and fresh produce, has been tainted by a rampant parasitic outbreak that’s made us all scared to indulge in a generous plate of Caesar salad.
From Salon ● Jul. 25, 2026
But she refuses to indulge him, moving her chair out of view with a scrape on the pavement; she doesn’t want to be mistaken for a tourist in this city, she says.
From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri
Ms. Day has the young writer’s weakness for showing off knowledge and she needlessly indulges in essay-like digressions on rhetorical terms and Latin etymologies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
Loyal, and not someone who briefs against colleagues to journalists or indulges in political games, he has been around the top of the Labour party for three decades.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
German director Ilker Catak's film "Yellow Letters", which is in official competition, also indulges in some location-switching, but for a slightly different reason.
From Barron's ● Feb. 15, 2026
It indulges in gestures as grand and unlikely as creating snow for a guest, and as small as a sandwich being cut to make it a little more friendly, a little more fancy.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2025
The idea is so appealing that she briefly indulges in one of those fantasies that momentarily feels real.
From "A Heart in a Body in the World" by Deb Caletti
The machine patted me on the head by noting that I had avoided words like profound and tapestry and only once indulged in telling all of you “Here’s the thing.”
From Slate ● Aug. 18, 2026
Everyone indulged in prodigious scenery-chewing, eschewing any subtlety that Puccini built into this tear-jerking piece in favor of all-around bludgeoning.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
Growing up in a small Southwestern town as an only child, Erika’s summers were neither good nor bad, neither deprived nor indulged.
From Salon ● Jun. 24, 2026
It’s where I watched Barack Obama get elected twice, the Lakers win back-to-back championships, and where I indulged in countless night caps and an unreasonable amount of all-you-can-eat split pea soup.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 26, 2026
She had been indulged from her birth, but was not absolutely spoilt.
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
Even indulging the fiction that the addendum is a contract, contracts require parties, consideration, and terms that hold still.
From Slate ● Aug. 10, 2026
You’re also indulging in way too much intrigue.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 31, 2026
A lot of athletes dream of rolling back the years but discover the reality of proving they can still compete - and not simply indulging in a nostalgia trip - is a different matter.
From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026
At least 30 officials were cited for indulging in “vulgar tastes.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 17, 2026
I think I could get some of that, he said, as if indulging a child’s wish for bubble gum.
From "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood
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.
