Spoiled

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /spɔɪld/

Definitions

1. Damaged beyond repair or decay due to age, neglect, or improper handling | Ruined in quality or state, especially in reference to food or personal attributes | Coddled excessively, resulting in a negative influence on behavior or character
2. Damaged or degraded in quality, particularly due to age or mishandling | Rendered unfit for consumption or use, especially concerning food | Indulged excessively, leading to detrimental effects on disposition or character
3. Altered negatively in condition due to decay or neglect

Etymology: The adjective describing someone or something as "spoiled" traces back to a verb with a more physical origin: to spoil. This verb entered English around the late Middle Ages, deriving from the Old French "espoillier," meaning "to plunder, strip, or rob," which itself comes from the Latin "spoliare," rooted in "spolium," meaning "booty" or "spoils of war." The earliest senses carried a very literal meaning—taking or ruining by force, often in the context of war or theft. Over time, the sense of "spoiling" broadened beyond physical plundering to include damaging or ruining something’s value, quality, or condition. By the 16th and 17th centuries, it was common to describe food that had gone bad or objects that had been damaged as "spoiled." This shift from external theft to internal decay or damage marked a significant semantic expansion: something could be "spoiled" not because it was taken away, but because it was ruined or corrupted. The adjective form, used to describe a person, particularly a child, emerged later by metaphorical extension. A "spoiled child" originally meant one who had been excessively indulged or pampered to the point of moral or behavioral deterioration. This sense appeared in English by the early 18th century and reflects a social judgment that overindulgence "ruins" a person’s character much like physical damage ruins an object or food. Pronounced /spɔɪld/, the word carries the weight of these layered meanings, from the tangible spoils of conflict to the intangible consequences of indulgence. Its journey from plunder to personality critique captures how language shifts from concrete actions to abstract qualities, mirroring cultural attitudes towards damage, value, and nurture.

Synonyms: rotten, decayed, damaged, ruined, broken

Antonyms: fresh, whole, intact, unspoiled, perfect