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spoiling

   Also found in: Medical, Idioms, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.06 sec.
spoil  (spoil)
v. spoiled or spoilt (spoilt), spoil·ing, spoils
v.tr.
1.
a. To impair the value or quality of.
b. To damage irreparably; ruin.
2. To impair the completeness, perfection, or unity of; flaw grievously: spoiled the party.
3. To do harm to the character, nature, or attitude of by oversolicitude, overindulgence, or excessive praise. See Synonyms at pamper.
4. Archaic
a. To plunder; despoil.
b. To take by force.
v.intr.
1. To become unfit for use or consumption, as from decay. Used especially of perishables, such as food. See Synonyms at decay.
2. To pillage.
n.
1. spoils
a. Goods or property seized from a victim after a conflict, especially after a military victory.
b. Incidental benefits reaped by a winner, especially political patronage enjoyed by a successful party or candidate.
2. An object of plunder; prey.
3. Refuse material removed from an excavation.
4. Archaic The act of plundering; spoliation.
Phrasal Verb:
spoil for
To be eager for: spoiling for a fight.

[Middle English spoilen, to plunder, from Old French espoillier, from Latin spolire, from spolium, booty.]
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun1.spoiling - the process of becoming spoiled
decay - the process of gradually becoming inferior
mildew, mould, mold - the process of becoming mildewed
souring - the process of becoming sour
2.spoiling - the act of spoiling something by causing damage to it; "her spoiling my dress was deliberate"
injury - an act that causes someone or something to receive physical damage

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Indeed, the wishes of my little correspondents have been considered as carefully as possible, and if the story is not exactly as you would have written it yourselves, you must remember that a story has to be a story before it can be written down, and the writer cannot change it much without spoiling it.
Nine times out of ten they take to torturing something, or to spoiling something-- and they firmly believe they are improving their minds, when the plain truth is, they are only making a mess in the house.
They are most exact about their hair, which is long and twisted, and their care of it is such that they go bare- headed whilst they are young for fear of spoiling it, but afterwards wear red caps, and sometimes turbans after the Turkish fashion.
 
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