From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishcoddlecod‧dle /ˈkɒdl $ ˈkɑːdl/ verb [transitive] KINDto treat someone in a way that is too kind and gentle and that protects them from pain or difficulty SYN mollycoddle Don’t coddle the child – he’s fine!→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
coddle• She never needed coddling against exposure.• She was, to him, like one of the saints, the blushing idols she coddled and cooed.• Our car coddling extends way beyond an inadequate transit system.• Nor does he coddle his players.• The infantry were peasants, coddled, soft and fat.• Yet the coddling state continues to loom large.• Some Carlsbad residents feel that they need to coddle their budding high-tech companies sprouting around Palomar Airport.• Police Chief McBride says coddling young lawbreakers just creates more adult criminals. 