Meaning & use
self-coddling
Last updated
Meaning
noununcountable
The act of treating yourself too gently and protectively, avoiding effort or discomfort.
Grammar: Uncountable; no plural. Often used after verbs like 'indulge in' or 'accuse of'.
Patterns
- accuse someone of self-coddling
- indulge in self-coddling
His constant self-coddling prevented him from growing.
Critics say the program encourages self-coddling instead of resilience.
She accused herself of self-coddling when she skipped the hard workout.
Common combinations
- a form of self-coddling
- Taking a day off is fine, but a week of self-coddling is too much.
- self-coddling behavior
- His self-coddling behavior annoyed his teammates.
- indulge in self-coddling
- After the failure, he indulged in self-coddling for a month.
Synonyms and how they differ
- self-indulgence
- Self-indulgence is broader and often about pleasures like food or shopping; self-coddling is more about avoiding challenges.
- overprotectiveness
- This usually refers to protecting others, not yourself; self-coddling is specifically about yourself.
Opposites
Word family
- coddle verb
- To treat someone too gently and protectively.
- coddled adjective
- Treated too gently; overprotected.
Commonly confused: self-coddling or cuddling?
self-coddling vs cuddling
Cuddling means holding someone close affectionately; self-coddling is about being too soft on yourself.
Practice
What does 'self-coddling' mean?
Choose one answer.
Self-coddling is about being overly protective of yourself. The other options are unrelated.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “self-coddling”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.