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
Relevance
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
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
Which brings us to this Christmas and a pernicious grinch named COVID who has teamed up with the Grim Reaper to batter us with waves of record-setting deaths, a resurgence of jobless claims and another lockdown here and in much of California.
—San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Dec. 2020
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
Which brings us to this Christmas and a pernicious grinch named COVID who has teamed up with the Grim Reaper to batter us with waves of record-setting deaths, a resurgence of jobless claims and another lockdown here and in much of California.
—San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Dec. 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for grinch
Noun
-
But, to the cynics, it could be twisted as a sign that Åberg isn’t wired like the great competitors in sports.—
Brody Miller,
New York Times,
7 Apr. 2025
-
Similarly to her dad, Abby tries to bring order to her crew of oddballs and cynics, most notably former night court prosecutor Dan Fielding (John Larroquette), a character from the original series.—
Nellie Andreeva,
Deadline,
9 May 2025
Noun
-
Plus, $1 from every cocktail sold will be donated to the Imperial Court de San Diego, a nonprofit serving the LGBTQ+ community through fundraising, drag and community service, according to event organizers.—
San Diego Union-Tribune,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
18 June 2025
-
The event is hosted by drag her-storian and nightlife goddess Linda Simpson.—
Muri Assunção,
New York Daily News,
14 June 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
-
Prep Crab Mixture In a medium bowl combine imitation crab, mayonnaise, lemon zest, and white pepper; mix well.—
Katlyn Moncada,
Better Homes & Gardens,
15 June 2025
-
Shabu-shabu hot pots are served throughout Japan, and regional variations showcase local proteins to replace the wagyu beef, such as crab, octopus, salmon, shirako (cod milt), or buri (yellowtail).—
Yukari Sakamoto,
AFAR Media,
12 June 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
-
Just the sheer, cavernous size of each cylinder – at 38 inches (97 cm) of bore by 98 inches (249 cm) of stroke ...—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
22 June 2025
-
The only problem was that Purdey had never made a hammer ejector gun in 28 gauge, or any hammer gun in .410 bore in their more than 200-year history.—
Chris Dorsey,
Forbes,
17 Mar. 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
-
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
-
Just wait until tech investors are smothered by the ultimate wet blanket: the uncharted territory of Trump tariffs.—
Allison Morrow,
CNN Money,
1 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Grinch.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/grinch. Accessed 30 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share