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.
Estranged parents—such as Laura Wellington, aka Doormat Mom—say that estranged children are misguided and spoiled.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 26, 2026
"If it were not for the war, she would still be a young girl spoiled by her father. She would be going to school," Zuhair adds.
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
For one, I believe audiences should know exactly what they are paying for, and two, I do not think “The Pineapple” can be properly spoiled.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026
That view, unlike a similar one in Spain would be, is not yet spoiled by parasols and day-trippers’ detritus.
From Slate ● Sep. 8, 2026
Jo wouldn’t love him, but he might make her respect and admire him by doing something which should prove that a girl’s ‘No’ had not spoiled his life.
From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott
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.
