grinch

noun

ˈgrinch 

plural grinches

: a grumpy person who spoils the pleasure of others : killjoy, spoilsport

It was a Christmas only a grinch could appreciate.

—Sky & Telescope

In between indulgent wine collectors who ignore price tags and frugal wine grinches who live by them are those wine lovers who know quality when they taste it, but refuse to spend a small fortune to get it.

—Robyn Bullard

… the sheer delight of watching Britain's Got Talent judge and notorious grinch Simon Cowell grow a heart right before the audience's eyes.

—Michelle Tauber et al.

Did you know?

When Theodor Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, wrote the children's book How the Grinch Stole Christmas in 1957, he probably had no idea that grinch would soon enter the general lexicon of English. Like Charles Dickens' Ebenezer Scrooge (whose name has become synonymous with miser), the Grinch changes his ways by the story's end, but it's the unreformed character who "hated Christmas! The whole Christmas season!" who sticks in our minds. The ill-natured Grinch, with his heart "two sizes too small," provides us with a lively symbol of someone we love to hate, and his name has thus come to refer to any disgruntled grump who ruins the pleasure of others.

Synonyms

• cynic
• drag
• killjoy
• crab
• spoilsport
• complainer
• bore
• party pooper
• wet blanket

Examples of grinch in a Sentence

Only a grinch would complain about the movie's silly plot.

accused the mayor of being a grinch after he cancelled the city's annual holiday parade for budgetary reasons

Recent Examples on the Web

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

Buy Now 08 of 26 'How My Neighbor Stole Christmas' by Meghan Quinn A neighborhood grinch learns the true meaning of Christmas courtesy of his sunshiny neighbor in How My Neighbor Stole Christmas. —Sabienna Bowman, People.com, 14 Dec. 2024

But seriously, the Freedom Caucus and anti-establishment wing that ousted McCarthy over cutting that initial spending deal stands ready to be the grinch in this scenario. —Leah Askarinam, ABC News, 21 Nov. 2023

American President Donald Trump doesn’t want to be the grinch that stole Christmas. —Vicki M. Young, Footwear News, 3 Sep. 2019

Word History

Etymology

from the Grinch, character in the children's story How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1957) by Dr. Seuss (Theodor Geisel)

First Known Use

1966, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for grinch

• cinch
• finch
• flinch
• inch
• lynch
• pinch
• synch
• winch
• bullfinch
• goldfinch

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