as in cynic
a person who spoils the pleasure of others
accused the mayor of being a grinch after he cancelled the city's annual holiday parade for budgetary reasons
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Recent Examples of grinch
The nonprofit donated almost $200,000 to the church for the materials a grinch stole.
—
Dawn White, CBS News, 10 Dec. 2025
To play off the flavor of the candy, the grinch-green dough has a subtle cinnamon flavor of its own.
—Alana Al-Hatlani, Southern Living, 30 Nov. 2025
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
American President Donald Trump doesn’t want to be the grinch that stole Christmas.
—Vicki M. Young, Footwear News, 3 Sep. 2019
Dawn White, CBS News, 10 Dec. 2025
To play off the flavor of the candy, the grinch-green dough has a subtle cinnamon flavor of its own.
—Alana Al-Hatlani, Southern Living, 30 Nov. 2025
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
American President Donald Trump doesn’t want to be the grinch that stole Christmas.
—Vicki M. Young, Footwear News, 3 Sep. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for grinch
Noun
-
The belief by cynics is that Netflix wants to be a streaming service.—
Anthony D'Alessandro,
Deadline,
26 Dec. 2025
-
In the years after 1991, Russians were trained cynics, having lived through Soviet decline and collapse; forcing belief would be a difficult endeavor, with an unclear upside.—
Foreign Affairs,
Foreign Affairs,
21 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Chabada For a livelier scene, head to the main drag along Platja de l’Arenal to find Chabada.—
Liz Provencher,
Travel + Leisure,
9 Jan. 2026
-
For spin gear, brands usually advertise drag ratings on saltwater fishing reels in pounds, but keep in mind smoothness under pressure, heat resistance, and consistency, too.—
Francesca Krempa,
Outside,
9 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Such means of interpretation, according to a killjoy like Bellow, reduces the complexity, interiority, and negative capability of literature into the work of a cryptologist trying to crack a code, of an occultist parsing scripture for hidden meanings.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
23 Dec. 2025
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Not surprisingly, the overwhelming response from readers told me to stop being a killjoy.—
Sal Pizarro,
Mercury News,
2 Dec. 2025
Noun
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At just below 60 feet, Dickie’s Reef is a haven for barracuda, parrotfish, butterfly fish, crab and lobsters.—
Adrienne Jordan,
USA Today,
6 Nov. 2025
-
Antipasti, insalata, and fritti follows, with dishes like lobster polpette fra diavolo, capellini crab AOP, and the new Mario’s Famous di Mare Salad.—
Nicole Hoey,
Robb Report,
6 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
No one likes a spoilsport, apparently.—
Bethy Squires,
Vulture,
22 Oct. 2025
-
Inevitably, violence erupts, both spontaneously, when a drug deal goes sour, and by design, when a spoilsport has to be eliminated.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
21 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
If family needs cause drama, set kind boundaries and explain them to any complainers.—
Tarot.com,
New York Daily News,
2 Jan. 2026
-
The faculty experience has been that administrations often side with the complainers.—
Louis Menand,
New Yorker,
26 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The result was a hybrid that survived fungal inoculation and bore nuts around 1962.—
Eric J. Wallace,
Outside,
24 Oct. 2025
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Experts said the Louvre robbery bore many of the hallmarks of these crimes, including getting away on motorbikes, entering the property in broad daylight and using brute force.—
N'dea Yancey-Bragg,
USA Today,
22 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The biggest party poopers recently have been Croatia, another European nation who finished second and third at the World Cups in 2018 and 2022 respectively.—
Michael Cox,
New York Times,
11 Oct. 2025
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But in their quest to make history, the guests turned into party poopers.—
The San Diego Union Tribune,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
1 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Grinch.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/grinch. Accessed 10 Jan. 2026.
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