[syn: spoil, spoiling, spoilage]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Spoil \Spoil\ (spoil), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Spoiled (spoild) or
Spoilt (spoilt); p. pr. & vb. n. Spoiling.] [F. spolier,
OF. espoillier, fr. L. spoliare, fr. spolium spoil. Cf.
Despoil, Spoliation.]
1. To plunder; to strip by violence; to pillage; to rob; --
with of before the name of the thing taken; as, to spoil
one of his goods or possessions. "Ye shall spoil the
Egyptians." --Ex. iii. 22.
[1913 Webster]
My sons their old, unhappy sire despise,
Spoiled of his kingdom, and deprived of eyes.
--Pope.
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2. To seize by violence; to take by force; to plunder.
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No man can enter into a strong man's house, and
spoil his goods, except he will first bind the
strong man. --Mark iii.
27.
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3. To cause to decay and perish; to corrupt; to vitiate; to
mar.
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Spiritual pride spoils many graces. --Jer. Taylor.
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4. To render useless by injury; to injure fatally; to ruin;
to destroy; as, to spoil paper; to have the crops spoiled
by insects; to spoil the eyes by reading.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
spoiling
n 1: the process of becoming spoiled [syn: spoilage,
spoiling]
2: the act of spoiling something by causing damage to it; "her
spoiling my dress was deliberate" [syn: spoil, spoiling,
spoilage]