Verb: spoil (spoilt, also spoiled) spoy(-u)l
- Badly mishandle or ruin something
"I spoilt the dinner and we had to eat out";
- botch, bodge [Brit, informal], bumble, fumble, botch up [informal], muff [informal], blow [informal], flub [N. Amer, informal], screw up [informal], muck up [informal], bungle, fluff [informal], bobble [N. Amer], mishandle, louse up [informal], foul up [informal], mess up, butcher, balls up [informal], cock up [Brit, informal], goof up [informal], make a hash of [informal]
- Alter from the original to become worse or broken
"The file was spoilt during transfer";
- corrupt
- Become unfit for consumption or use
"the meat must be eaten before it spoils";
- go bad, go off
- Treat with excessive indulgence
"grandparents often spoil the children";
- pamper, featherbed, cosset, cocker [rare], baby, coddle, mollycoddle, indulge, overindulge, nanny [informal]
- Hinder or prevent (the efforts, plans, or desires) of
"the news might spoil our plans for the weekend";
- thwart, queer [informal], scotch, foil, cross, frustrate, baffle, bilk [informal], scupper [informal]
- Make imperfect
"nothing spoilt her beauty";
- mar, impair, deflower, vitiate, pollute
- Have a strong desire or urge to do something
"He is spoiling for a fight";
- itch [informal]
- [archaic] Rob or strip (a place) of its contents or resources destructively
"The soldiers spoilt the beautiful country";
- rape [archaic], despoil, plunder
- (usually plural) valuables taken by violence (especially in war)
"to the victor belong the spoils of the enemy"
- [archaic] The act of stripping and taking by force
"The spoil of the conquered territories left them impoverished";
- spoliation, spoilation, despoilation, despoilment, despoliation
Derived forms: spoilt, spoils, spoiling
See also: double-cross
Type of: damage, decay, desire, destroy, do by [Brit], fail, forbid, foreclose, forestall, go wrong, handle, miscarry, modify, pillage, pillaging, plundering, preclude, prevent, ruin, stolen property, treat, want
Encyclopedia: Spoil