indulge

English

Etymology

From the Latin indulgeō (“I indulge”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɪnˈdʌldʒ/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Verb

indulge (third-person singular simple present indulges, present participle indulging, simple past and past participle indulged)

1. (intransitive, often followed by "in"): To yield to a temptation or desire.

   He looked at the chocolate but didn't indulge.

   I indulged in drinking on the weekend.

2. (transitive) To satisfy the wishes or whims of.

   Grandma indulges the kids with sweets.

   I love to indulge myself with beautiful clothes.

   • Atterbury

     Hope in another life implies that we indulge ourselves in the gratifications of this very sparingly.

   • 2016 February 23, Robbie Collin, “Grimsby review: ' Sacha Baron Cohen's vital, venomous action movie'”, in The Daily Telegraph (London):

     It’s the kind of scenario Peter Sellers might have dreamt up while brushing his teeth, and some of the comic set-pieces – including Nobby’s seduction of a fabulously overweight maid (Gabourey Sidibe) at a luxurious South African hotel – allow Baron Cohen to indulge his Sellersian fantasies to a previously unprecedented degree.

3. To give way to (a habit or temptation); not to oppose or restrain.

   to indulge sloth, pride, selfishness, or inclinations

4. To grant an extension to the deadline of a payment.
5. To grant as by favour; to bestow in concession, or in compliance with a wish or request.
   • Jeremy Taylor

     persuading us that something must be indulged to public manners

   • Alexander Pope

     Yet, yet a moment, one dim ray of light / Indulge, dread Chaos, and eternal Night!

Synonyms

• (to satisfy the wishes of): coddle, cosset, pamper, spoil
• See also Wikisaurus:indulge

Related terms

• indulgence
• indulgent
• indulger

Translations

to yield to a temptation

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Czech: oddávat se impf (pokušení)
• Dutch: toegeven (nl), zwichten (voor de verleiding)
• Esperanto: indulgi, dorloti (eo)
• Finnish: langeta (fi), sortua (fi)
• French: céder (fr), succomber (fr) (à la tentation)
• Galician: sucumbir
• German: nachgeben (de), erliegen

• Greek: υποκύπτω (el) (ypokýpto), ενδίδω (el) (endído)
• Hungarian: elcsábul
• Maori: whakawaireka
• Occitan: cedir, sucombir
• Portuguese: ceder (pt), sucumbir (pt)
• Russian: придаваться (ru) impf (pridavatʹsja)
• Spanish: ceder (es), sucumbir (es)
• Swedish: unna (sv)
• Turkish: kendini vermek, teslim olmak (tr), boyun eğmek (tr), yenik düşmek (tr)

to satisfy the wishes or whims of

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 放縱 (zh), 放纵 (zh) (fàngzòng), 放任 (zh) (fàngrèn), 姑息 (zh) (gūxī), 寬縱 (zh), 宽纵 (zh) (kuānzòng)

• Czech: uspokojit pf
• Dutch: in de watten leggen, verwennen (nl), koesteren (nl)
• Esperanto: cedi al
• Finnish: hemmotella
• French: dorloter (fr), gâter (fr), choyer (fr)
• Galician: consentir (gl), permitir (gl)
• German: frönen (de), hätscheln (de), verwöhnen

• Greek: του κάνω όλα τα χατήρια (tou káno óla ta chatíria), κακομαθαίνω (el) (kakomathaíno), καλομαθαίνω (el) (kalomathaíno)
• Hebrew: סיפק (he) (sipék)
• Hungarian: elkényeztet (hu)
• Japanese: 甘やかす (あまやかす, amayakasu)
• Maori: whakapuhi, whakawaireka
• Portuguese: mimar (pt)
• Russian: потака́ть (ru) (potakátʹ), потво́рствовать (ru) (potvórstvovatʹ), балова́ть (ru) (balovátʹ), попусти́тельствовать (ru) (popustítelʹstvovatʹ), ублажа́ть (ru) (ublažátʹ)
• Spanish: mimar (es), consentir (es)
• Turkish: memnun etmek (tr), şımartmak (tr)

to give way to (a habit or temptation), not to oppose or restrain

• Czech: dát průchod pf (citům, návyku)

to grant extension to payment

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Dutch: uitstel van betaling toestaan

• Finnish: antaa maksuaikaa (fi)
• French: accorder un délai de paiement
• Russian: отсро́чить (ru) (otsróčitʹ)

Anagrams

• dueling
• eluding

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Italian

Verb

indulge

1. third-person singular present indicative of indulgere

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Latin

Verb

indulgē

1. second-person singular present active imperative of indulgeō