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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

wrap in cotton wool en · VERB

Pronunciation

Meanings

  1. (idiomatic) To treat delicately, to baby, to coddle.
    • All the Stuff the Expectant Dad Needs to Know George Lewis ... Because it must be hard,' that I even allowed myself to admit to myself that, yes, it was quite hard. ... But she didn't wrap him up in cotton wool and always tried to[…] 2022 February 3, George Lewis, DON'T PANIC!: All the Stuff the Expectant Dad Needs to Know, Hachette UK, →ISBN:
    • 'A word to the wise—don't wrap him in cotton wool, because he'll resent it later. 2015 October 1, Kate Hardy, Falling for Mr. December, Harlequin, →ISBN:
    • But you can't wrap me in cotton wool. 2014 December 21, A K Michaels, Supernatural Enforcement Bureau, Bureau Under Siege: Book 3, A K Michaels:
    • "[…] He told me what to expect, he didn't wrap me in cotton wool, and was always a great guide who treated me the same as everybody else, which is really what I needed. He didn't treat me any differently from the male managers in his team. I got a bollocking the same way everyone else did!" 2024 January 24, Dyan Perry talks to Nick Brodrick, “The industry has given me so much”, in RAIL, number 1001, page 42:

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
wraps in cotton wool Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres lexicographic
wrapping in cotton wool Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
wrapped in cotton wool Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
wrapped in cotton wool Tense=Past lexicographic

Relateds

handle with kid gloves