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
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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for grinch
Noun
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On the other hand, skeptics and cynics tend to be insistent right now that the clean-up activity is not going to last very long.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
18 Sep. 2025
-
Travis Kelce knows what the cynics might think of his relationship with Taylor Swift — two of the most famous people in America just happen to match up perfectly?—
Jason P. Frank,
Vulture,
12 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
The method can provide aerodynamic drag data more efficiently during the early stages of aircraft design.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
7 Nov. 2025
-
One of my dear friends is Privilege, a drag artist in Brooklyn.—
Joe Lynch,
Billboard,
5 Nov. 2025
Noun
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But Sennott’s script is smart not to make Maia such a killjoy straightman opposite Tallulah.—
Caroline Framke,
Vulture,
3 Nov. 2025
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Stay a while Another eclipse killjoy?—
Maya Silver,
Outside,
21 Oct. 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
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The faculty experience has been that administrations often side with the complainers.—
Louis Menand,
New Yorker,
26 Sep. 2025
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Recognize Quieter Customers Celebrate the non-complainers.—
Expert Panel®,
Forbes.com,
11 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 9 Nov. 2025.
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