mollycoddle
1 of 2verb
mol·ly·cod·dle ˈmä-lē-ˌkä-dᵊl 
mollycoddled; mollycoddling ˈmä-lē-ˌkäd-liŋ
-ˌkä-dᵊl-iŋ
transitive verb
: to treat with an excessive or absurd degree of indulgence and attention
mollycoddler
ˈmä-lē-ˌkäd-lər
noun -ˌkä-dᵊl-ər
mollycoddle
2 of 2noun
dated, disparaging : a pampered or effeminate man or boy
Did you know?
Coddling eggs is delicate business. You need to cook them slowly and gently, keeping the water just below boiling. Given how carefully you need to treat the eggs, it's not surprising that coddle, the name for the cooking process, developed the figurative sense "to pamper." Mollycoddle was formed by combining coddle with molly, a nickname for Mary. In its earliest known uses in the 1840s, mollycoddle was a noun, a synonym of our modern wimp, but in short time, it was being used as the verb you're likely to encounter now.
Synonyms
Verb
- baby
- cocker
- coddle
- cosset
- dandle
- indulge
- nurse
- pamper
- spoil
- wet-nurse
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
Verb The coach has been mollycoddling the team's star players. refused to mollycoddle her malingering son and sent him off to school
Recent Examples on the Web
James Surowiecki, New York Times, 19 Dec. 2019 Koenig may have supported Bernie Sanders in 2016, but Sanders’s mollycoddling platform never approaches the real-life perplexities that Koenig — a pop poet — sings about. Armond White, National Review, 10 Dec. 2019 Her poise is the result of a loving yet punctilious upbringing by parents determined that their fame and its accompanying perks were not going to mollycoddle their two children. Michael Callahan, Town & Country, 1 Aug. 2018 Both sides are mollycoddling their own predicaments with this talk. Chad Pergram, Fox News, 15 Mar. 2018 This mollycoddled outdated practices, like harvesting by hand. The Economist, 14 Dec. 2017 CBS News, 5 Feb. 2020 See More
Verb
So football generally, and pro football specifically, helped reassure the country that American men were not mollycoddled softies. James Surowiecki, New York Times, 19 Dec. 2019 Koenig may have supported Bernie Sanders in 2016, but Sanders’s mollycoddling platform never approaches the real-life perplexities that Koenig — a pop poet — sings about. Armond White, National Review, 10 Dec. 2019 Her poise is the result of a loving yet punctilious upbringing by parents determined that their fame and its accompanying perks were not going to mollycoddle their two children. Michael Callahan, Town & Country, 1 Aug. 2018 Both sides are mollycoddling their own predicaments with this talk. Chad Pergram, Fox News, 15 Mar. 2018 This mollycoddled outdated practices, like harvesting by hand. The Economist, 14 Dec. 2017 Noun
Frankly, mollycoddle is the word that comes to term. CBS News, 5 Feb. 2020 See More Word History
Etymology
Noun
Molly, nickname for Mary
First Known Use
Verb
1865, in the meaning defined above
Noun
1837, in the meaning defined above
mollycoddles
verb
as in spoils
to treat with great or excessive care refused to mollycoddle her malingering son and sent him off to school Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- spoils
- coddles
- nurses
- cossets
- babies
- indulges
- dandles
- pampers
- pleases
- mothers
- delights
- cockers
- appeases
- wet-nurses
- satisfies
- humors
- caters (to)
- mollifies
- placates
- gratifies
- pacifies
- soothes
- contents
- gladdens
- obliges
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- maltreats
- abuses
- controls
- manhandles
- disciplines
- mistreats
- misuses
- ill-treats
- mishandles
- restrains
- oppresses
- ill-uses
- neglects
- violates
- hurts
- outrages
- molests
- overlooks
- torments
- tortures
- victimizes
- persecutes
- oppresses
- harasses
- slights
- injures
- harms