cosset
/ˈkɒsɪt/ (bre, ipa) · [kˈɑsət] /ˈkɑːsɪt/ (ame, ipa) · [kˈɑsət] /ˈkä-sət/ (ame, mw)
cosset — verb
- cossetpresent simple I / you / we / they
- cossetshe / she / it
- cossetedpast simple
- cosseting-ing form
1. to care for someone with such thorough attention to their comfort and freedom fr
to care for someone with such thorough attention to their comfort and freedom from difficulty that the treatment may strike others as excessive or spoiling
Amira's aunt loved being cosseted, so her nieces brought her breakfast in bed each morning.
passive form: be cosseted
The resort cosseted its guests with hot towels, fresh juice, and a warm welcome at reception.
cosset [someone] with [comforts]
Tariq worried his parents cosseted him too much, so he moved out to become more independent.
Linh's grandmother cosseted every visitor by insisting they eat three servings of her special soup.
Yael cosseted the frightened puppy until its fur grew back and it no longer shivered at sudden noises.
- pamper
more common and neutral — implies indulgence without the protective, isolating sense
- coddle
similar level of excess, but often suggests treating someone as weak or incapable
- mollycoddle
informal, even stronger negative sense of overprotection
- spoil
emphasises the negative outcome (bad behaviour from being given too much), not the protective attention
文法句型
cosset + noun phrase
be cosseted by + noun phrase
用法筆記
Often carries a mildly critical tone — the speaker implies the care is excessive. For neutral or positive overprotection, prefer 'pamper' or 'look after'. Frequently appears in passive constructions ('was cosseted by').
常見錯誤
cosset — noun
1. a young lamb that is kept as a domestic pet rather than raised for meat or wool,
a young lamb that is kept as a domestic pet rather than raised for meat or wool, often one that was orphaned and hand-fed by the family
The children raised the orphaned lamb as a cosset, feeding it by hand near the warm fireplace.
raised as a cosset
When the cosset grew too large for the house, the family moved it to a warm pen beside the kitchen.
The shepherd gave the motherless lamb to his daughter, and she named her cosset 'Buttons'.
Neighbours teased the farmer for keeping a cosset in the kitchen, but the children adored it.
- pet lamb
the plain English equivalent, far more widely understood
文法句型
a cosset
the cosset
用法筆記
Historically the original meaning from which the verb sense derives. Now very uncommon in everyday speech — most English speakers encounter it in historical or rural writing.