Indulge
[ɪn'dʌldʒ]
Definition
(verb.) give free rein to; 'The writer indulged in metaphorical language'.
(verb.) enjoy to excess; 'She indulges in ice cream'.
Checker: Rene--From WordNet
Definition
(v. t.) To be complacent toward; to give way to; not to oppose or restrain
(v. t.) to give free course to; to give one's self up to; as, to indulge sloth, pride, selfishness, or inclinations;
(v. t.) to yield to the desire of; to gratify by compliance; to humor; to withhold restraint from; as, to indulge children in their caprices or willfulness; to indulge one's self with a rest or in pleasure.
(v. t.) To grant as by favor; to bestow in concession, or in compliance with a wish or request.
(v. i.) 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, by to.
Edited by Bridget
Synonyms and Synonymous
v. a. [1]. Gratify, favor, humor, cherish, pamper, COCKER, give free scope to, give a loose rein to, give way to, give one's self up to.[2]. Allow, permit, suffer.
v. n. Indulge one's self.
Checked by Chiquita
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Spoil, pamper, humor, gratify, cherish, bask, revel, grovel, foster, favor,allow
ANT:Thwart, deny, contradict, disappoint, discard, abjure, counteract, renounce,mortify, discipline
Inputed by Bennett
Definition
v.t. to yield to the wishes of: not to restrain as the will &c.—v.i. (with in) to gratify one's appetites freely.—ns. Indul′gence gratification: forbearance of present payment: in the R.C. Church a remission to a repentant sinner of the temporal punishment which remains due after the sin and its eternal punishment have been remitted (Plenary indulgences such as remit all; Partial a portion of the temporal punishment due to sin; Temporal those granted only for a time; Perpetual or Indefinite those which last till revoked; Personal those granted to a particular person or confraternity; Local those gained only in a particular place): exemption of an individual from an ecclesiastical law.—adjs. Indul′gent yielding to the wishes of others: compliant: not severe; Indulgen′tial.—adv. Indul′gently.—ns. Indul′ger; Indult′ a license granted by the Pope authorising something to be done which the common law of the Church does not sanction.—Declaration of Indulgence a proclamation of James II. in 1687 by which he promised to suspend all laws tending to force the conscience of his subjects.
Checked by Adelaide
Examples
- She could not doubt, she dared not indulge a hope, of the paragraph being false. Jane Austen. Mansfield Park.
- If people are so silly as to indulge the sentiment, is it my fault? Charles Dickens. David Copperfield.
- When the suggestions of hope, however, which must follow here, presented themselves, she could not presume to indulge them. Jane Austen. Emma.
- He would analyze his own machinations: elaborately contrive plots, and forthwith indulge in explanatory boasts of their skill. Charlotte Bronte. Villette.
- He would drink the regiment's health; or, indeed, take any other excuse to indulge in a glass of champagne. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- Believe me, Mr Roylands, if you have a stomach for fighting, I fancy there will be plenty of opportunity for you to indulge in it shortly. Fergus Hume. The Island of Fantasy.
- That is, replied Mr. Knightley, she will indulge her even more than she did you, and believe that she does not indulge her at all. Jane Austen. Emma.
- She indulged in a little laugh. Thomas Hardy. The Return of the Native.
- The girls indulged unrestrained in their grief. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- This harshness to one like me, who had been hitherto so spoiled and indulged, affected me with the deepest melancholy. Harriette Wilson. The Memoirs of Harriette Wilson.
- The fact is, our servants are over-indulged. Harriet Beecher Stowe. Uncle Tom's Cabin.
- I do not look upon myself as either prosperous or indulged. Jane Austen. Emma.
- Thirty or forty pilgrims had arrived from the ship, by the short routes, and much swapping of gossip had to be indulged in. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- This was very hard upon one, who, like myself, had been spoiled and indulged by a man, who was ever a slave to my slightest caprices! Harriette Wilson. The Memoirs of Harriette Wilson.
- The agonies of remorse poison the luxury there is otherwise sometimes found in indulging the excess of grief. Mary Shelley. Frankenstein_Or_The Modern Prometheus.
- If you quote David Hume at them, and say that reason itself is an irrational impulse they think you are indulging in a silly paradox. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
- Mrs. Weston, with her baby on her knee, indulging in such reflections as these, was one of the happiest women in the world. Jane Austen. Emma.
- They were merely indulging in the ordinary vivacious chat of relatives who have long been parted in person though not in soul. Thomas Hardy. The Return of the Native.
- It was an indescribable luxury to find myself indulging in earnest conversation with serious persons. Wilkie Collins. The Moonstone.
- He felt somehow ashamed of this paternal softness and hid it from his wife--only indulging in it when alone with the boy. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- People in high life have all the luxuries to themselves--among others, the luxury of indulging their feelings. Wilkie Collins. The Moonstone.
- The fact is, St. Clare indulges every creature under this roof but his own wife. Harriet Beecher Stowe. Uncle Tom's Cabin.
- A story of that kind is enough to make a man hesitate before he indulges in a flamboyant description of social changes. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
Checked by Lemuel