Definition

1. Verb:
   • To treat with excessive care, attention, or indulgence; to pamper or overprotect.

Usage

• The verb "cosset" describes the act of treating someone, often a child or a pet, with extreme and often excessive kindness, comfort, and protection. It implies shielding them from any difficulty or hardship. It is typically used in a context that suggests the treatment might be overly indulgent and potentially harmful to the recipient's development or independence.

Examples

• Verb:
  • The wealthy couple chose to cosset their only child, giving him every luxury.
  • She tends to cosset her plants, keeping them in a perfectly controlled environment.
  • He felt cosseted by his overprotective parents and longed for more freedom.

Advanced Usage

• "to be cosseted": to be the recipient of excessive pampering.
  • The celebrity was cosseted by an entourage of assistants.
• "cosseting" (gerund/noun): the act of pampering.
  • Her constant cosseting prevented the child from learning basic problem-solving skills.

Variants and Related Words

• Cosseted (adj): Having been pampered or overindulged.
  • He had a cosseted upbringing.
• Coddle (verb): A close synonym meaning to treat in an indulgent or overprotective way.
• Pamper (verb): To indulge with every comfort and attention; often used more positively than "cosset."
• Mollycoddle (verb): To be overly protective and indulgent; very similar in meaning and connotation to "cosset."

Synonyms

• Pamper: To treat with excessive indulgence and attention.
• Indulge: To allow someone to have or do whatever they want.
• Baby: To treat like a baby, with excessive care.
• Spoil: To harm someone's character by overindulgence.

Antonyms

• Neglect: To fail to care for properly.
• Harden: To make tough or resilient.
• Discipline: To train to obey rules or a code of behavior.

Notes on Usage

• "Cosset" often carries a slightly negative or critical connotation, suggesting that the pampering is excessive and possibly weakening. It is less commonly used in everyday American English than synonyms like "pamper" or "spoil."

Verb

1. treat with excessive indulgence
   • grandparents often pamper the children
   • Let's not mollycoddle our students!