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Glite Dictionary
📖 To make too easy 👶 To feed with spoon
to spoonfeed

to spoonfeed

1 5.7
To give students answers in a very simple way so they do little or no work
  • verb
  • /ˈspuːnˌfiːd/
  • Informal
: dar información simplificada
  • If you spoonfeed employees, they may never learn to solve problems independently.

Examples

  • The teacher refused to spoonfeed the class, encouraging them to find answers on their own.

  • The course does not spoonfeed its students, instead it expects active participation and research.

  • Teachers shouldn't spoonfeed students too much.

  • Why do you always spoonfeed your children?

  • The teacher refused to spoonfeed the students, instead challenging them to think critically.

  • If you constantly spoonfeed information to your team, they won't develop the necessary skills to think for themselves.

  • Parents who spoonfeed their children may hinder their ability to make decisions independently.

Antonyms

to engage
39 3.5

To keep someone's full attention

How Guided

to spoonfeed
  • Informal
1 5.7
to guide
260 1.0
to show
∞ 1.0
to explain
∞ 1.0
to suggest
∞ 1.6
hint
276 1.5

Surface Forms

spoonfeed infinitive
spoonfeeding present participle
spoonfeeds third person singular
spoonfed past
spoonfed past participle

Morphology

spoonfeed = spoon + feed (semi-transparent) = spoon + feed

The verb is a metaphorical extension from feeding with a spoon to providing information in an overly simple way; composition is clear but the meaning is figurative.

Etymology

Spoonfeed comes from the same image of spoon + feed: think of feeding a baby with a spoon, and you get the idea that it means to give information or help 'in a very simple way' so the learner does not have to do the work themselves.