coddling
Treating too gently
Coddling is treating someone with excessive care or protection, shielding them from difficulty or discomfort.
The word carries a note of criticism—coddling implies the care is unwarranted or weakening: Stop coddling him; he needs to learn responsibility.
Parents coddle children, institutions coddle students, critics accuse governments of coddling criminals.
Separately, coddling is a gentle cooking method—eggs coddled in barely simmering water.
Causing ruin or decay
- pamperingLavish attentive care
- dotingExcessively affectionate toward
- cossetingOverprotective care
- fussingAnxious, trivial agitation
humoring · catering · gratifying · lenient · permissive · soft · yielding · tolerant
Depriving of air
- hoveringSuspended without support
- shieldingProtecting from harm
- infantilizingTreating as incapable
- babyingTreating as helpless
mollycoddling · enabling · sheltering · cushioning · hand-holding · spoon-feeding · overindulgent · stifling
Unlawful wildlife capture
- simmeringCooking below boiling point
- soft-boiledBriefly cooked, yolk liquid
- eggsReproductive cells in shells
- water-bathContainer in heated liquid
bain-marie · low-temperature · yolks · whites · custards · ramekins · sous-vide · delicate
Attending to dependents
- nurturingSupportive care-giving
- fosteringPromoting development or growth
- nourishingPromoting health through food
- supportingBearing or sustaining
comforting · tending · mothering · fathering · gentleness · tenderness · attentiveness · cherishing
spoiling
Causing ruin or decay
fussing · humoring · catering · gratifying · lenient · permissive · soft · yielding · tolerant · easygoing
smothering
Depriving of air
- hoveringSuspended without support
- shieldingProtecting from harm
- infantilizingTreating as incapable
babying · mollycoddling · enabling · sheltering · cushioning · hand-holding · spoon-feeding · overindulgent · stifling · suffocating
poaching
Unlawful wildlife capture
- simmeringCooking below boiling point
- soft-boiledBriefly cooked, yolk liquid
- eggsReproductive cells in shells
water-bath · bain-marie · low-temperature · yolks · whites · custards · ramekins · sous-vide · delicate · tender
caregiving
Attending to dependents
- nurturingSupportive care-giving
- fosteringPromoting development or growth
- nourishingPromoting health through food
supporting · comforting · tending · mothering · fathering · gentleness · tenderness · attentiveness · cherishing · cradling
- overparentinghelicopter parenting, helicopter parent, overprotective, overprotection, overprotecting
- wet cookingboiling, steaming, simmering, poaching, braising
- soft parentingpermissive, lenient, doting, pampering, spoiling
- caregivingcaregiver, take care, nurture, look after, compassionate care
- caringcare, concern, attentiveness, tenderness, nurturing
- Egg thingscracking, hatching, incubation, egg whites, egg yolks
coddlingabusing
Harming through misuse
mistreating · brutalizing · toughening up · roughhousing · disciplining
coddlingneglecting
Failing to attend to
ignoring · abandoning · disregarding · overlooking · indifference
coddlingchallenging
Hard to accomplish
pushing · hardening · tough love · toughening · demanding
cuddle, cuddly, coddle, cuddling, coddled, cuddler, coddles, coddler