as in wet blanket
a person who spoils the pleasure of others
a party pooper who insisted they turn the music down
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of party pooper
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
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
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
Mosquitoes are, in fact, hellish little bugs that take the gold for summer’s biggest party poopers.
—Katie Camero, SELF, 25 July 2024
If a particular segment goes over your head, just wait for the next one; who but the most humorless party pooper wouldn’t enjoy watching mental-health professionals diagnose comedians, including Mulaney, based on clips of their standup specials?
—Judy Berman, TIME, 10 May 2024
Michael Cox, New York Times, 11 Oct. 2025
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
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
Mosquitoes are, in fact, hellish little bugs that take the gold for summer’s biggest party poopers.
—Katie Camero, SELF, 25 July 2024
If a particular segment goes over your head, just wait for the next one; who but the most humorless party pooper wouldn’t enjoy watching mental-health professionals diagnose comedians, including Mulaney, based on clips of their standup specials?
—Judy Berman, TIME, 10 May 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for party pooper
Noun
-
This approach isn’t about throwing a wet blanket on the festivities of the season.—
Monitor staff,
Christian Science Monitor,
19 Dec. 2025
-
Both dynamics are pretty well-worn from the first four seasons of the series, and there isn't much value to turning both Hopper and Joyce into wet blankets at this moment of ultimate crisis.—
Kelly Lawler,
USA Today,
27 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
More recently, armed counter-protesters were a visible presence at drag performances and Black Lives Matter demonstrations; soon, armed left-wing counter-counter-protesters started showing up, too.—
Rachel Monroe,
New Yorker,
26 Mar. 2026
-
There's some drag through the crust before the serrations fully bite, but once past it, the blade moves cleanly.—
Jamie Thilman,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
24 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Millions of dead red crabs, normally found further south, washed up on local shores, making a stinky mess.—
Laylan Connelly,
Oc Register,
27 Mar. 2026
-
Miso deepens a crab thermidor ($29) festooned in pomelos.—
Cesar Hernandez,
San Francisco Chronicle,
27 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The show’s one and only joke is that the story is played more or less straight and true to the language of soap operas with pregnant pauses, cheesy music cues, and melodramatic reveals — which is funny for a few scenes before turning into a laughless bore.—
Eric Vilas-Boas,
Vulture,
18 Mar. 2026
-
After the strike the fish bore away but then came topside to jump.—
Bob McNally,
Outdoor Life,
12 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
March 2026 Prose's debut novel is centered around Molly Gray, a 25-year-old maid at the Regency Grand Hotel, a five-star boutique hotel, who has an obsessive love of cleaning and proper etiquette.—
Angeline Jane Bernabe,
ABC News,
3 Mar. 2026
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These ajummas, these old maids, with their curly hair, were actually doing this!—
Scott Feinberg,
HollywoodReporter,
17 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Which poem, and why did the killjoys at the magazine turn it down?—
Anthony Lane,
New Yorker,
22 Mar. 2026
-
Such means of interpretation, according to a killjoy like Bellow, reduces the complexity, interiority, and negative capability of literature into the work of a cryptologist trying to crack a code, of an occultist parsing scripture for hidden meanings.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
23 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Party pooper.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/party%20pooper. Accessed 1 Apr. 2026.
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