🇬🇧 Indulgence meaning: English Vocabulary Flash Card

Indulgence is when you let yourself have a special extra treat, usually something you don’t really need and that might not be very healthy, but it makes you feel happy. It could be eating a big piece of chocolate cake, playing games longer than usual, or staying up past bedtime to watch a movie. You don’t do it all the time, but once in a while you give yourself this extra bit of fun or comfort, and that special extra is called an indulgence.

I claimed my extra-long bubble bath was an indulgence, but really I was just hiding from my math homework.

My Saturday morning indulgence is doing absolutely nothing so hard that I need a nap afterward.

My brother’s biggest indulgence is using half a bottle of ketchup on three french fries.

I said a third scoop of ice cream was a minor indulgence; my stomach called it a major emergency.

My weekend indulgence is wearing pajamas so long that they start to think they’re regular clothes.

Anna stole an indulgence: a warm pastry on a rainy bench under a streetlamp. She closed her eyes, the indulgence melting on her tongue, crumbs on her coat. For five minutes the indulgence was honesty, a small secret joy. That indulgence ended with a laugh; the indulgence left her ready to walk home today.

This word is at the C2 level, which means it represents the highest mastery of English. It’s often used in specialized or highly formal contexts and helps you communicate with precision and subtlety, much like a native speaker.

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