verb

spoil

SPOYL/spɔɪl/

To damage the quality or usefulness of something.

The spilled juice spoils the drawing, making its colors run and paper buckle.

A glass of spilled juice soaks a carefully completed drawing, colors running and paper buckling.

Etymology

Latin spoliare meant to strip or plunder. English extended that idea to depriving something of an essential quality, which led to the broader sense of damaging it or ruining its enjoyment.

In context

Old Time Radio Researchers3:13

sparkling days that spring and perhaps a billion or more of them since the earth began and nothing had ever happened to spoil them but a few small fires or a slight head cold in the evening

[1954] Lux Radio Theatre - The Day the Earth Stood Still

More examples

Please don't spoil the surprise by telling her.
They spoil their son by granting his every demand.
Milk spoils quickly when left in the heat.

Forms

spoil · spoils · spoiled · spoiling

spoilage noun — The process of food becoming unusable.

Similar words

ruin: Ruin suggests damage severe enough to make something worthless.
damage: Damage emphasizes harm without necessarily destroying overall usefulness.
impair: Impair emphasizes reducing function or effectiveness rather than enjoyment.