indulge
/in'dju:/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Verb (transitive):
- To allow (someone) to have or do something they enjoy, especially to an excessive degree: To treat with special favor, often by permitting something not usually allowed or by giving excessive gratification.
- To allow oneself to enjoy the pleasure of something: To satisfy or yield freely to a desire or interest.
Verb (intransitive):
- To engage or take part, especially freely or with abandon: Often used with "in" to describe allowing oneself to do or have something enjoyable, sometimes to excess.
Examples of Usage
Transitive verb:
- The grandparents indulge their grandchildren with sweets and gifts.
- On her birthday, she indulged her passion for art by visiting three museums.
Intransitive verb (with "in"):
- After a long week, I like to indulge in a hot bath and a good book.
- He rarely indulges in rich desserts.
Advanced Usage
"to indulge a thought/fancy/hope": To allow oneself to think about or entertain something, often pleasant but perhaps unrealistic.
- She indulged the fancy that one day she would live in a castle.
"to indulge oneself": To allow oneself to have or do something special or pleasurable.
- For the weekend, I plan to indulge myself with complete relaxation.
Variants and Related Words
Indulgence (noun): The act of indulging or the state of being indulgent; something enjoyed as a treat.
- Chocolate is my one indulgence.
Indulgent (adjective): Characterized by or showing indulgence; lenient or permissive.
- He has very indulgent parents.
Synonyms
- Pamper: To treat with excessive care and attention.
- Spoil: To harm someone's character by being too lenient or indulgent.
- Gratify: To give pleasure or satisfaction to.
- Yield to: To give in to a desire or impulse.
Related Phrasal Verbs/Constructions
- Indulge in: This is the standard construction for the intransitive use, meaning to allow oneself to enjoy something.
- It's okay to indulge in a little nostalgia sometimes.
Related Idioms
- "To indulge one's every whim": To satisfy all of one's (or someone else's) desires, no matter how sudden or unreasonable.
- The wealthy heir was used to having his every whim indulged.
Verb
- treat with excessive indulgence
- grandparents often pamper the children
- Let's not mollycoddle our students!
- enjoy to excess
- She indulges in ice cream
- yield (to); give satisfaction to
- give free rein to
- The writer indulged in metaphorical language