Debbie Downer

noun

Deb·​bie Down·​er ˈde-bē-ˈdau̇-nər 

plural Debbie Downers

informal

: a negative or pessimistic person : a person who speaks only of the bad or depressing aspects of something and lessens the enthusiasm or pleasure of others

OK, now I really don't want to sound like a Debbie Downer, but 2018 has not been an easy one, my friends.

—Valerie Mesa

"If this is all supposed to be a big joke perpetuated on residents, I expect they probably violated the law to pull it off," said [Barbara] Petersen, president of the First Amendment Foundation. "I hate to be a Debbie Downer, but seriously, I don't think they thought this through."

—Associated Press

I'm always the Debbie Downer and I'm always Mr. Negative … I call it like I see it.

—Brent Venables

Examples of Debbie Downer in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

My question to you: Is there a better way to answer this question honestly without being a real Debbie Downer? —Amy Dickinson, The Mercury News, 13 Feb. 2024

Working With a Debbie Downer My colleague at work is a real downer. —Roxane Gay, New York Times, 14 Oct. 2023

Rachel Dratch is looking back on a behind-the-scenes Saturday Night Live moment that would have made Debbie Downer proud. —Emlyn Travis, EW.com, 12 Apr. 2023

The movie also strikes a note of agreeably transgressive comedy when Cranky Kong and his crew, who’ve been placed in hanging cages, have to the endure the presence of a glowing star who voices Debbie Downer existential despair in the ickiest of baby voices. —Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 4 Apr. 2023

Word History

Etymology

alliterative combination of the personal name Debbie and downer

Note: Name popularized, if not introduced, by a skit character Debbie Downer on the American television variety show Saturday Night Live; the character first appeared in the program for May 1, 2004.

First Known Use

2005, in the meaning defined above