grinch

noun

ˈgrinch How to pronounce grinch (audio)
Definition of grinchnext
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for grinch
  1. cynic
  2. drag
  3. killjoy
  4. crab
  5. spoilsport
  6. complainer
  7. bore
  8. party pooper
Noun
  • Questions about whose interests Infantino is serving have developed beyond average cynics who tend to suspect this type of thing.
    — Simon Hughes, New York Times, 1 Aug. 2026
  • Trump’s insistence on lower rates isn’t helping matters, and cynics argue that Warsh doesn’t want to make the president angry.
    — David Goldman, CNN Money, 30 July 2026
Definition of cynic
Noun
  • American flags line the downtown drag of this old mill town on Maine’s southern coast, just half an hour from Portland.
    — Carine Hajjar, Washington Post, 21 July 2026
  • This, in turn, significantly reduces drag and slashes fuel consumption.
    — Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 21 July 2026
Definition of drag
Noun
  • In the end, at the risk of sounding like a killjoy, a real way to save the planet and save money is to just buy and produce less.
    — Kara McGrath, Allure, 22 Apr. 2026
  • Which poem, and why did the killjoys at the magazine turn it down?
    — Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 22 Mar. 2026
Definition of killjoy
Noun
  • The winning appetizer, though, was the aesthetically humble but nonetheless delicious jumbo lump crab cake, a mustardy affair crowned with pickled radish.
    — Connie Ogle July 31, Miami Herald, 31 July 2026
  • During a visit to the Copenhagen restaurant on Tuesday, chefs practiced preparing pike perch, brown crab, shrimp, and mushrooms in Noma’s open kitchen.
    — James Brooks, Fortune, 30 July 2026
Definition of crab
Noun
  • The first thing Sweetpea does, after ditching her spoilsport colleague at the hotel, is pay a visit to SwiftGC, a payment processor recently acquired by Tender.
    — Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 6 Feb. 2026
  • Granted, this might simply be an old-fashioned spoilsport way to view the market.
    — Michael Santoli, CNBC, 10 Jan. 2026
Definition of spoilsport
Noun
  • Are they deluded into thinking that the complainers are just a squeaky wheel minority and the majority of fans are happy with it?
    — Jeremy Rutherford, New York Times, 13 July 2026
  • Instead of pushing through pain and not speaking up for fear they'll be labeled weak or a complainer, this generation is more inclined to listen to their bodies, advocate for themselves, and address the issue through the proper resources.
    — Sarah Scott, Parents, 10 June 2026
Definition of complainer
Noun
  • As rain drizzled and the humidity bore down, the president peered at blueprints for the public golf course, before driving to his own course in Virginia via the Arlington Memorial Bridge, near where his Triumphal Arch may soon be built.
    — Shelby Talcott, semafor.com, 3 July 2026
  • Breaking it down by item type, 80 percent of scarves 54 percent of tops, 25 percent of baby clothing, 13 percent of activewear and 14 percent of sleep wear bore inaccurate labels.
    — Jennifer Bringle, Footwear News, 25 June 2026
Definition of bore
Noun
  • But none of the Premier League’s refs or growing cohort of specialist VARs revel in the role of party pooper.
    — Graham Scott, New York Times, 10 Apr. 2026
  • 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
Definition of party pooper

Browse Nearby Words

grin
grinch
grinches
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Cite this Entry

“Grinch.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/grinch. Accessed 5 Aug. 2026.

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