spoon-feed

verb

Definition of spoon-feednext
as in to hand-feed

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of spoon-feed The broadcasters are spoon-fed a talking point while noting that the Bears have lost nine games in a row, including all three under interim coach Thomas Brown. — Steve Henson, Los Angeles Times, 26 Dec. 2024 Brewer’s main complaint is that he isn’t being spoon-fed enough information on where the candidates stand on issues. — Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 19 Aug. 2024 Parents generally spoon-feed jars of pureed foods for a few months in the first year of life when introducing solids, but pouches marketed to parents of toddlers and older children have prolonged pureed food eating by years. — Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 25 Oct. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spoon-feed
  1. hand-feed
  2. force-feed
  3. overfeed
  4. fatten
  5. fill
Verb
  • Billy and Michelle Mouw’s family farm has been hand-feeding their chickens and providing fresh eggs for 32 years.
    — Ryan Fonseca, Los Angeles Times, 4 Mar. 2025
  • Trying to reason with someone like that is like trying to hand-feed a shark.
    — Harper's Magazine, Harper's Magazine, 2 Apr. 2024
Definition of hand-feed
Verb
  • However, the grim force-feeding situation becomes the last straw for Natalie, who seems to be the only Yellowjacket left with any sort of internal moral compass.
    — Erin Qualey, Vulture, 14 Mar. 2025
  • Rich whispered as the boat crew force-fed me pita bread.
    — Olga Khazan, The Atlantic, 18 Feb. 2025
Definition of force-feed
Verb
  • Napping after overfeeding on food is a dilemma many of us will be fortunate to face on Christmas Day.
    — Robert Lea, Space.com, 18 Dec. 2024
  • However, they should always be given in moderation, because overfeeding your pet can lead to obesity, which causes diseases such as diabetes mellitus, arthritis, heart disease and even cancer.
    — Maria Azzurra Volpe, Newsweek, 13 Dec. 2024
Definition of overfeed
Verb
  • Each bird typically spends about a month in central Nebraska, fattening up on kernels of corn left behind during the last fall’s harvest.
    — Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 Mar. 2025
  • But those sounds were routinely fattened, making the day’s production sound larger.
    — Tom Roland, Billboard, 13 Feb. 2025
Definition of fatten
Verb
  • Their worlds feel just as grand in scope as famously massive games like The Elder Scrolls — presenting lush alien lands filled with tons of diverse creatures and wildlife, and hundreds of individual NPCs that often have unique stories to tell.
    — Hayes Madsen, Rolling Stone, 19 Mar. 2025
  • John Frankenheimer fills the film with a Cold War–era sense that anyone could be the enemy — even, thanks to a chilling turn by Angela Lansbury, one’s own mother.
    — Keith Phipps, Vulture, 19 Mar. 2025
Definition of fill

Browse Nearby Words

spoon-fed
spoon-feed
spoon-feeding
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Cite this Entry

“Spoon-feed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spoon-feed. Accessed 1 Apr. 2025.

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