indulgently
Americanadverb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Explanation
When you do something in an overly generous or permissive way, you do it indulgently. If your grandparents spoil you, they treat you indulgently. You can say you eat indulgently when you dine on luxurious food and take a long time to finish your meal — you're giving yourself permission to feast. Likewise, a babysitter treats a child indulgently when he lets her stay up way past her bedtime. This adverb comes from the noun indulgence. with its variations in meaning: "kindness," "gratification of another's desire," and "yielding to one's own inclinations."
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.
Monahon, whose impressive list of works includes “The Good John Proctor,” is free-associating a bit too indulgently on the topics of eating and pleasure.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 22, 2026
To cook — well, thoughtfully, indulgently — is to assert that pleasure still matters.
From Salon • May 12, 2025
Even after a close brush with the pointy end of an antler, she looked on them indulgently.
From New York Times • Jan. 30, 2023
Searcher, upon seeing Ethan lovingly looking at his boyfriend, indulgently declares that he totally understands the discombobulating power of first crushes.
From Seattle Times • Nov. 22, 2022
“So they’re still teaching you kiddie Physics,” he says indulgently.
From "Cat's Eye" 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.
