as in killjoy
a person who spoils the pleasure of others
if you don't want to play, at least don't be a spoilsport
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of spoilsport
This spoilsport effort has become fodder for late-night comedy routines and gripes about liberal overlords such as Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg banishing all fun.
—
Chicago Tribune, Twin Cities, 1 Feb. 2024
Be prepared to be labelled humourless, difficult, a spoilsport, and a ruiner of parties, meetings, dinners, and picnics.
—Natalie Gil, refinery29.com, 11 July 2023
Who knows whether another variant will turn spoilsport next year.
—Rajrishi Singhal, Quartz, 10 Feb. 2022
Sorry for being a spoilsport.
—John F. Wasik, Forbes, 13 Oct. 2021
See All Example Sentences for spoilsport
Chicago Tribune, Twin Cities, 1 Feb. 2024
Be prepared to be labelled humourless, difficult, a spoilsport, and a ruiner of parties, meetings, dinners, and picnics.
—Natalie Gil, refinery29.com, 11 July 2023
Who knows whether another variant will turn spoilsport next year.
—Rajrishi Singhal, Quartz, 10 Feb. 2022
Sorry for being a spoilsport.
—John F. Wasik, Forbes, 13 Oct. 2021
See All Example Sentences for spoilsport
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spoilsport
Noun
-
Nauseatingly innocent and a self-righteous killjoy, April seems to have existed solely for the purpose of making everyone else on Grey's Anatomy look worlds more interesting.—
Marc Snetiker,
Entertainment Weekly,
3 Oct. 2025
-
The Civil War, which is jeopardizing his presidency, has turned him into an utter killjoy.—
Charles McNulty,
Los Angeles Times,
3 June 2025
Noun
-
The musical, which reimagines Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats as a drag ballroom competition, will play Broadway’s Broadhurst Theatre with previews starting March 18, 2026, ahead of an April 7 opening night.—
Caitlin Huston,
HollywoodReporter,
9 Oct. 2025
-
While the service was great, my sleep was intermittent, which made the flight drag.—
AFAR Media,
AFAR Media,
9 Oct. 2025
Noun
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On the other hand, skeptics and cynics tend to be insistent right now that the clean-up activity is not going to last very long.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
18 Sep. 2025
-
Travis Kelce knows what the cynics might think of his relationship with Taylor Swift — two of the most famous people in America just happen to match up perfectly?—
Jason P. Frank,
Vulture,
12 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
The long drive back to Yolo County late Saturday evening wasn’t such a bore for the UC Davis football coach, his giddy group of Aggies and suddenly weary and sleep-ready sons.—
Joe Davidson,
Sacbee.com,
5 Oct. 2025
-
Her books were their progeny, Stein acknowledged, and without Alice’s mothering—and typing, proofreading, cooking, sewing, shopping, bookkeeping, and warding off bores—they might not have been born.—
Judith Thurman,
New Yorker,
29 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
The faculty experience has been that administrations often side with the complainers.—
Louis Menand,
New Yorker,
26 Sep. 2025
-
Recognize Quieter Customers Celebrate the non-complainers.—
Expert Panel®,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
California has 42 official state symbols after Governor Newsom signed three bills to create new symbols in 2024, including the Dungeness crab as the state crustacean, the banana slug as the state slug, and the black abalone as the state seashell.—
Martha McHardy,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Oct. 2025
-
There are also enhancements like lobster tail, shrimp and roasted bone marrow, and Oscar-style, with crab, asparagus and Bearnaise sauce.—
Susan Selasky,
Freep.com,
9 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Tired of looking like the grinch (can't help the hair).—
David Faris,
Newsweek,
27 Feb. 2025
-
The Pompano Beach, Fla. doesn’t play grinch alone; Veeze, Lil Yachty, Rob49, Juvenile, and B.G. also appear on the project.—
Preezy Brown,
VIBE.com,
27 Dec. 2024
Noun
-
Aleksander Barkov has covered him like a wet blanket at times, showcasing the two-way prowess that just earned him his third Selke Trophy.—
Daniel Nugent-Bowman,
New York Times,
16 June 2025
-
It’s stated routinely in my upcoming book The Deficit Delusion that the centralized and politicized allocation of goods, services and labor in sub-optimal fashion by politicians lays a wet blanket on economic growth.—
John Tamny,
Forbes.com,
7 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Spoilsport.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spoilsport. Accessed 17 Oct. 2025.
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