to baby
22
6.0
- verb
- /ˈbeɪbi/
- Informal
- If she started by babying Jackie, the day was going to be a disaster.
- stop babying
- want to baby
- get babied
Examples
-
It's important not to baby him too much, or he won't learn to be independent.
-
And, you know, I feel like we baby people a little too, too much.
-
And there have been times when I thought both she and Janet baby him too much.
Fiction book (1994) -
I'm trying to make him a man, but you keep babying him.
Fiction book (1990) -
The nuns have been babying you more than you have any right to.
Fiction book (1998) -
Look, I'm tired of being babied and sheltered.
-
She realized that by constantly babying her daughter, she was hindering her growth.
-
He kept babying his younger brother, making it hard for him to face challenges on his own.
Synonyms
65
4.1
To let someone have whatever they want, often too much
55
3.7
To give a child too many gifts or freedoms, causing bad behavior
45
3.7
To give someone too much care and special treatment
43
6.4
Treat someone with too much care so they become less independent
11
6.7
To give someone too much kindness and gifts so they expect special treatment
2
9.3
To give someone too much care so they become weak
1
9.1
To give someone too much care and protection so they do not face problems
1
7.0
To give someone so much care and affection that they feel overwhelmed
1
8.8
To treat someone with too much care so they do not learn to help themselves
1
8.6
To give someone too much comfort so they do not learn
To give someone too much care or gifts so they do not learn to manage on their own
Antonyms
Idioms
2
8.1
To get rid of something valuable while removing something bad
- Informal
1
9.1
Being the only person who must deal with a problem after others avoid it
- Informal
1
8.8
To have the only responsibility for a hard problem when others avoid it
Phrasal Verbs
- Informal
1
8.8
To treat someone with too much care so they do not learn to help themselves
Compounds
- Offensive
14
9.9
An insulting name for a person who kills or is accused of killing babies
10
1.4
A small cart with four wheels that you push to carry a baby who is lying down or sitting
6
3.5
People in the United States born between 1946 and 1964 when birth rates rose after World War II
- Informal
4
4.2
A baby that doctors make from an egg and sperm outside the mother's body and put in her womb
- Offensive
1
9.9
An insulting word for someone with a very small penis or who acts like a child
- South African
1
8.4
A small animal from Africa that is active at night with big eyes and a long tail
- Slang
1
9.9
A person who grows up with parents active in communist or socialist politics
1
5.9
A small creeping plant with many tiny round leaves used as a houseplant or ground cover
1
8.7
A small plant with soft blue flowers with dark spots that grows in California
- Jargon
A habit of preferring the first way you learn and resisting later changes
- Specialized
A small rose bush that grows strongly and makes many small flowers used for hedges and grafting
- Offensive
An insulting word for a person who complains a lot and acts like a child
How Indulgent
Surface Forms
Etymology
Baby A common idea is that baby comes from early 'baby talk' like baba or ba, the sounds you make for a small child. So, to baby someone is to treat them like a child, giving them extra care or making things too easy for them.