Overcoddle

verb

verb ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To coddle too much; to treat with too much care. transitive

    "If we're anxious adults, it's probably not because we were overcoddled as toddlers, but that a particular gene on chromosome 17 — one that regulates serotonin transmission — is quite different from the one found in folks who are preternaturally laid-back."

Example

More examples

"If we're anxious adults, it's probably not because we were overcoddled as toddlers, but that a particular gene on chromosome 17 — one that regulates serotonin transmission — is quite different from the one found in folks who are preternaturally laid-back."

Etymology

From over- + coddle.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.