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Indulge vs Pamper vs Humor vs Spoil vs Baby vs Mollycoddle

Indulge, pamperhumorspoilbabymollycoddle mean to show undue favor or attention to a person or his desires.

Indulge implies weakness or compliance in gratifying another’s wishes or desires, especially those which have no claim to fulfillment or which ought to be kept under control.

Pamper carries an implication of inordinate gratification of an appetite or taste especially for what is luxurious or dainty and, therefore, softening in its physical, mental, or moral effects.

Humor stresses either attention to or an easy yielding to whim, caprice, or changing desires; it therefore often suggests accommodation to the moods of another.

Spoil stresses the injurious effect on the character or disposition of one who is indulged, pampered, humored, or otherwise made the recipient of special attention; however the word is often used to imply attentions that are likely to have this effect.

Baby implies excessive attentions, especially of the kind given to those who are unable to care for themselves and need the constant assistance of a mother or nurse; it also carries a strong implication of humoring or pampering.

Mollycoddle usually implies babying; it distinctively suggests inordinate attention to another’s health or physical comfort or undue efforts to relieve another of strain or hardship. It often also connotes, as the effect or danger of such treatment, effeminateness or infantilism.