Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- v. To yield to the desires and whims of, especially to an excessive degree; humor.
- v. To yield to; gratify: indulge a craving for chocolate.
- v. To allow (oneself) unrestrained gratification: indulged herself with idle daydreams. See Synonyms at pamper.
- v. Roman Catholic Church To grant an ecclesiastical indulgence or dispensation to.
- v. To indulge oneself: eyed the desserts but didn't indulge.
- v. To engage or take part, especially freely or avidly: indulged in outrageous behavior; indulged in all the latest fads.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- To be kind or complaisant to; yield to the wish or humor of; gratify by compliance; refrain from restraining; humor: as, to indulge a child.
- To grant, as a favor; bestow in compliance with desire or petition; accord.
- To give way to; give free course to: as, to indulge a propensity or a passion.
- Synonyms Humor, etc. (see gratify); favor, pamper.
- To gratify one's self freely; give free course to the gratification of one's desires or appetites: followed by in before the object of desire, etc.: as, to indulge in the use of tobacco.
- To yield; give way: with to.
Wiktionary
- v. intransitive : To yield to a temptation or desire.
- v. transitive To satisfy the wishes or whims of.
- v. To grant an extension to the deadline of a payment.
GNU Webster's 1913
- v. To be complacent toward; to give way to; not to oppose or restrain.
- v. to give free course to; to give one's self up to; .
- v. to yield to the desire of; to gratify by compliance; to humor; to withhold restraint from
- v. To grant as by favor; to bestow in concession, or in compliance with a wish or request.
- v. To indulge one's self; to gratify one's tastes or desires; esp., to give one's self up (to); to practice a forbidden or questionable act without restraint; -- followed by
in , but formerly, also, byto .
WordNet 3.0
- v. yield (to); give satisfaction to
- v. enjoy to excess
- v. treat with excessive indulgence
- v. give free rein to
Etymologies
- From the Latin indulgeō ("I indulge"). (Wiktionary)
- Latin indulgēre. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“That large order of large “Natural-Cut French Fries” that I like to order when I indulge is another 500 calories.”
The Volokh Conspiracy » The Double Standard of Libertarian Paternalism
“That every bad habit in which you indulge is shortening the life of some of your faculties, and that God Himself cannot save you from the doom which you are earning, deserving, and working out for yourself every day and every hour.”
“The case supposed, that our own hand, or eye, or foot, offend us; that the impure corruption we indulge is as dear to us as an eye or a hand, or that that which is to us as an eye or a hand, is become an invisible temptation to sin, or occasion of it.”
“Their master knew no peace of mind till, having passed the narrows, he found on some moor or common "plenty o 'sea-room," notwithstanding the danger that "plenty o 'sea-room" might induce the too artful Teddy to "turn topsails under," or in other words indulge in”
“There is a sort of listlessness -- or, perhaps, more properly, reverie -- in which many indulge, which is as sinful as it is unprofitable; and there are modes of thinking and subjects of thought, which are, to say the least, unworthy of a rational, intelligent and immortal spirit.”
“This is a most vexing thing, when persons professing the Christian name indulge themselves in a liberty to walk at random; are impatient of restraints; affect libertinism; have not refrained their feet but have loved to wander: therefore the Lord doth not accept them; he will now remember their iniquity, and visit their sins.”
The Whole Works of the Rev. John Howe, M.A. with a Memoir of the Author. Vol. VI.
“Bellville, does not the very word indulge shew the sensation to be pleasurable?”
“But you object, 'Must our love to the unbaptized indulge them in an act of disobedience?”
“Of course, the biggest attraction is that it presents a unique opportunity to "indulge" and to "learn about ourselves" and maybe you make or lose money.”
“Where banks are contracting, where typical investments may have failed people, there is an opportunity to "indulge" in a business that seems to be recession proof, yet do so in a conservative and smart way, like the banks.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘indulge’.
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hunting
crudely, unequivocal, obsolete, obscure, overtly, misdeed, shack, inherent, outcry, hefty, composed, poised and 319 more...
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GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4087 more...
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Interesting words
A list of words that are odd or words that I have looked up.
concupiscence, brize, scree, scoria, forestaff, spanaemia, valetudinarianism, distasture, pyrethrum, laudanum, gentian, bicameral and 11250 more...
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EN-HU - important words for a HU inte...
Words only (I left out the expressions) from Geza Kerenyi's EN-HU interpreters' dictionary. Most of them pose some difficulty when interpreted between HU and EN in either or both directions.
abalone, abrasive, abstractionist, abstruse, abysmal, academia, accessibility, accessible, acclimate, accolade, accompanist, achiever and 1469 more...
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day10
indulge, protagonist, invite, empathize, empathy, blameworthy, reprehend, reprove, admonish, censure, candid, forthcoming and 2 more...
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Alternatives to DRINK
drink is a boring word.
absorb, consume, dissipate, gulp, indulge, swallow, imbibe, sip, fill, quaff, chug, slug and 2 more...
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Sarah's words
adept, pedagogic, pedagogy, discerning, genuine, articulate, collaboration, enterprise, sterile, asunder, prudent, imprudent and 19 more...
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Neww
specious, disdainfully, vehemently, in lieu of, dismissive, perpetual, preposterous, impasse, fathom, conversely, repugnant, clogged and 142 more...
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the first list
an immense, grandiloquent list that loads like a thousand years sentence in stone. new words are in the other lists.
ridiculous, brummagem, predicament, sanctimonious, vapid, eschew, admonish, auspicious, capitulation, enumerate, lachrymose, tenet and 1648 more...
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Twitter favourites
The new favourite words of people on Twitter.
A script searches Twitter for "X is my new favourite word" and adds it to this list.
See also:
thunderfuck, incredible, merp, sara, flopparoo, smother, fugly, buer, plum, canny, nefelibata, cuntbucket and 2434 more... -
Words
My list of words.
veritable, facetious, nadir, quixotic, apropos, acquiesce, ostensible, insipid, egregious, inveterate, coax, adroit and 409 more...
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eggplantia5's Words
scintillate, marvel, cranberry, oscillate, triumph, bamboozle, grimace, magical, book, hexagon, cipher, compendium and 2727 more...
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The Sog Collection
My big word list.
chaos, flaccid, empirical, flotsam, cacophony, grumble, assuage, awe, romance, mortality, coalesce, fortuitous and 3282 more...
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fifi
verbs Adj Adv noun
indulge, convene, solve, dissolve, prospect, prospective, allege, resolve, accountable, administration, amid, agenda and 407 more...
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my words
words i like
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stpeter's Words
abase, abasement, abashed, abdicate, aberrant, abeyance, abhor, abhorrent, abide, abject, ablation, abnegation and 3536 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for indulge.
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