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.
Indulgently long and choreographed to winking perfection, the “Dames” sequence is one of those primordial jolts of cinematic nirvana that puts everything into perspective.
From Slate • Feb. 3, 2016
"Tewfick Pasha has no right to give me to you—" Indulgently he smiled down at her, then his narrowed eyes traveled slowly about the room.
From The Fortieth Door by Bradley, Mary Hastings
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.
