as in spoilsport
a person who spoils the pleasure of others
his perpetually negative attitude made him a real killjoy when others were trying to have fun
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of killjoy
Stay a while Another eclipse killjoy?
—
Maya Silver, Outside, 21 Oct. 2025
Nauseatingly innocent and a self-righteous killjoy, April seems to have existed solely for the purpose of making everyone else on Grey's Anatomy look worlds more interesting.
—Marc Snetiker, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Oct. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for killjoy
Maya Silver, Outside, 21 Oct. 2025
Nauseatingly innocent and a self-righteous killjoy, April seems to have existed solely for the purpose of making everyone else on Grey's Anatomy look worlds more interesting.
—Marc Snetiker, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Oct. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for killjoy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for killjoy
Noun
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Granted, this might simply be an old-fashioned spoilsport way to view the market.—
Michael Santoli,
CNBC,
10 Jan. 2026
-
No one likes a spoilsport, apparently.—
Bethy Squires,
Vulture,
22 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The cynics are figures like Sam Bankman-Fried, who built a fortune off of a crypto exchange called FTX, which crashed and burned in the fall of 2022, eventually sending Bankman-Fried to prison for fraud.—
Jack Crosbie,
Rolling Stone,
7 Apr. 2026
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The dollar amount was chosen arbitrarily based on what voters might accept, and some cynics saw it as a move by a pro-development commission to cozy up to environmentalists.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
9 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Following a touching second act slide show tribute to the founders of the drag houses of that earlier era, Junior LaBeija arrives as Gus, the elder theater cat nostalgically recalling his great stage moments.—
Frank Rizzo,
Variety,
8 Apr. 2026
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What powers The Jellicle Ball, in either instance, is the intuition that cultural products of opposite edges of 1980s New York City — the megamusical and the drag ball — can speak to each other.—
Jackson McHenry,
Vulture,
8 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The pervasive popularity of the show and its creator will be the reason the complainers have no voice.—
Rich Heldenfels,
Boston Herald,
22 Mar. 2026
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An energy vampire has bad body language, the complaining look on their face, the vocal complainer.—
Edgar Thompson,
The Orlando Sentinel,
8 Feb. 2026
Noun
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As the North bore down on Saigon, Thieu begged for American financial support, but Congress was in no mood to pour more millions into the black hole of Southeast Asia.—
Louis Menand,
New Yorker,
13 Apr. 2026
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The one block square bore witness to Sacramento’s history.—
Ishani Desai,
Sacbee.com,
6 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The nonprofit donated almost $200,000 to the church for the materials a grinch stole.—
Dawn White,
CBS News,
10 Dec. 2025
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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
Noun
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The plant provides habitat for fish, crabs and plankton, feeds migratory birds and locks away carbon and methane — both heat-trapping greenhouse gases — in coastal sediments.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
10 Apr. 2026
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Their diet includes fish, squid, crabs, krill and other sea life.—
Samantha Agate,
Miami Herald,
8 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Killjoy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/killjoy. Accessed 14 Apr. 2026.
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