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
American President Donald Trump doesn’t want to be the grinch that stole Christmas.
—
Vicki M. Young, Footwear News, 3 Sep. 2019
Tired of looking like the grinch (can't help the hair).
—David Faris, Newsweek, 27 Feb. 2025
Tired of looking like the grinch (can't help the hair).
—David Faris, Newsweek, 27 Feb. 2025
Tired of looking like the grinch (can't help the hair).
—David Faris, Newsweek, 2 Feb. 2025
Tired of looking like the grinch (can't help the hair).
—Kevin Lynn, Newsweek, 6 Jan. 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
Vicki M. Young, Footwear News, 3 Sep. 2019
Tired of looking like the grinch (can't help the hair).
—David Faris, Newsweek, 27 Feb. 2025
Tired of looking like the grinch (can't help the hair).
—David Faris, Newsweek, 27 Feb. 2025
Tired of looking like the grinch (can't help the hair).
—David Faris, Newsweek, 2 Feb. 2025
Tired of looking like the grinch (can't help the hair).
—Kevin Lynn, Newsweek, 6 Jan. 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for grinch
Noun
-
But crypto companies have long maintained that digital currencies are a new, innovative financial product that needs its own set of rules — rules that critics and cynics say the crypto sector would like to shape to its advantage by spending heavily in elections.—
Rafael Nam,
NPR,
19 July 2025
-
Gunn and Safran and all of Warner Bros can rest easy after the cynics’ snarking over the first trailer back in December.—
Anthony D'Alessandro,
Deadline,
10 July 2025
Noun
-
The success was incredible, but like Darren said, the main goal is always to become a Halloween costume—or a drag routine.—
Keaton Bell,
Vogue,
15 Aug. 2025
-
Attendees can look forward to a parade, health fair, neighborhood market, interfaith worship service and a drag pageant as part of the milestone celebration.—
Evan Moore
August 15,
Charlotte Observer,
15 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
The Civil War, which is jeopardizing his presidency, has turned him into an utter killjoy.—
Charles McNulty,
Los Angeles Times,
3 June 2025
-
Without being a complete spoiler-lobbing killjoy, this is a story heavily marinated in trauma, with an emphasis on two parties’ checkered past in particular.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
29 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
The crab shirt, and right, Barney's smiling reaction.—
Rachael O'Connor,
MSNBC Newsweek,
12 Aug. 2025
-
These ranged from more than 30 new breakfast items and dishes like soft shell crab tempura bao buns in Red Ginger.—
Kathleen Wong,
USA Today,
10 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Suddenly, the Republicans were the spoilsports who couldn’t take the joke, a position stereotypically held by politically correct liberals.—
Rebecca Jennings,
Vox,
9 Aug. 2024
-
Millennial workers are increasingly becoming the office spoilsports, with young people increasingly likely to be in it for the money rather than for fun, as years of economic turmoil force them to keep their heads down, collect their monthly paychecks, and fight for a promotion.—
BYRyan Hogg,
Fortune Europe,
26 June 2024
Noun
-
But come summer, when tomatoes are at their sweetest and heaviest, ready to burst just from the bore of your gaze at the farmers market, there is no need to complicate things.—
Emma Laperruque,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
2 July 2025
-
Her T-shirt bore Ozzy Osbourne’s name, a tribute to the Black Sabbath singer, whose death was announced earlier Tuesday.—
Martha Ross,
Mercury News,
24 July 2025
Noun
-
In the co-main event, Zhang Mingyang proved to be the ultimate party pooper.—
Brian Mazique,
Forbes.com,
27 Apr. 2025
-
Despite his literal change of heart, the Grinch continues to symbolize holiday party poopers everywhere.—
Mike Miller,
People.com,
19 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
“Grinch.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/grinch. Accessed 21 Aug. 2025.
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