Word.ws English Dictionary

Synonyms of spoil

43 similar words · 10 opposite words

Another word for spoil is mar. Other synonyms of spoil are sour, soil, bungle, botch and pollute. The opposite of spoil is support.

Synonyms and similar words for spoil

verbTo ruin; to damage in such a way as to make undesirable or unusable.

  • damage
  • destroy
  • sully
  • ruinTo upset or overturn the plans or progress of, or to have a disastrous effect on something.

verbTo ruin the character of, by overindulgence; to coddle or pamper to excess.

nounPlunder taken from an enemy or victim.

nounMaterial (such as rock or earth) removed in the course of an excavation, or in mining or dredging....

verbMore synonyms

  • blightTo impede the development or growth of (an aspect of life); to damage, to ruin, to spoil.
  • bumble
  • botchTo perform (a task) in an incompetent or unacceptable manner; to make a mess of something.
  • bugger up vulgarTo break or spoil something, or make it inoperative, useless etc.
  • bungleTo incompetently perform (a task); to ruin (something) through incompetent action; to botch up, to bumble.
  • contaminateTo make unfit for use by the introduction of unwholesome or undesirable elements.
  • corruptTo waste, spoil, or consume; to make worthless.
  • crab slang
  • depraveTo make bad or worse; to vitiate; to corrupt.
  • disrupt
  • disturb
  • foilTo blunt; to dull; to spoil.
  • fuck up vulgar
  • jack up vulgar
  • marTo spoil; to ruin; to scathe; to damage.
  • mess upTo cause a problem with; to introduce an error or mistake in; to make muddled or confused; spoil; ruin.
  • mishandle
  • mommick US, dialectalTo mess up; to bungle or ruin by bungling.
  • polluteTo make something or somewhere less suitable for some activity, especially by the introduction of some unnatural factor.
  • put a crimp inTo spoil; to affect badly, preventing the usual or desired effect.
  • screw up vulgar
  • soilTo make invalid, to ruin.
  • sourTo spoil or mar; to make disenchanted.
  • stain
  • undo literary
  • upset
  • turn upside down
  • upset the applecartTo disorganize or spoil something, especially an established arrangement or plan.
  • vitiateTo spoil, make faulty; to reduce the value, quality, or effectiveness of something.
  • ball up dated, slangTo ruin or botch.
  • queer dated, slangTo spoil the effect or success of, as by ridicule; to throw a wet blanket on; to spoil.

Opposite of spoil

verbMore antonyms

Meaning of spoil

  1. verb To strip (someone who has been killed or defeated) of arms or armour.
  2. verb To strip or deprive (someone) of possessions; to rob, despoil.
  3. verb To plunder, pillage (a city, country etc.).

Full definition of spoil

spoil in other languages

Questions about synonyms of spoil

What is another word for spoil?
Spoil has 43 synonyms on Word.ws, such as mar, sour, soil, bungle, botch, pollute, corrupt and contaminate.
What is the opposite of spoil?
The opposite of spoil is support.
What does spoil mean?
Spoil means to strip (someone who has been killed or defeated) of arms or armour.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: spoil (page history and authors) and the entries of the words listed. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws grouped the synonyms and antonyms by meaning and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “Synonyms of spoil.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/synonyms/spoil. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.