spoiled

American  

[spoild] / spɔɪld /

adjective

1. (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.

2. (of food) having become bad or unfit for use; tainted, rancid, or soured.

   Eating spoiled fish causes symptoms that closely resemble an allergic reaction.

3. 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.

4. (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.

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verb

1. a simple past tense and past participle of spoil.

Other Word Forms

• unspoiled adjective

Etymology

Origin of spoiled

spoil ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

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.

Example Sentences

Pandaram, meanwhile, is an uxorious family man struggling to marry off a spoiled daughter, and the story turns on the scams and deceptions he faces in arranging her future.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 8, 2026

Harry Maguire's special day - following his England recall - was spoiled by his sending off at Vitality Stadium, but it was the performance of the officials that had United fuming.

From BBC • Mar. 20, 2026

This slim, powerful novel could be spoiled by too much information, but lingering too long on the 60-something narrator’s encounter with a teenager that makes her remember her own teenaged self — seems too simple.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 3, 2026

Brazilian director Karim Ainouz's surreal satire "Rosebush Pruning" premiered on Saturday at the Berlin Film Festival with one of the programme's starriest casts portraying an outrageously spoiled and dysfunctional family descending into chaos.

From Barron's • Feb. 14, 2026

It was as if someone had made a goulash out of spoiled fish, sprinkled it with pungent cheese, and then served it in an unsanitary shoe.

From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood

Related Words

• rotten