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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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
Today’s groups are... Yellow group — party pooper Green group — musical sections
Blue group — bit of liquid
Purple group — vegetable homophones
What Are Today’s Connections Answers?
Spoiler alert!
—Kris Holt, Forbes, 19 Feb. 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
Today’s groups are... Yellow group — party pooper Green group — musical sections
Blue group — bit of liquid
Purple group — vegetable homophones
What Are Today’s Connections Answers?
Spoiler alert!
—Kris Holt, Forbes, 19 Feb. 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
-
Economic drag At home, the toll of the Ukraine war has effectively removed Russia from the ranks of the world’s economic powers, according to the report.—
Brad Lendon,
CNN Money,
28 Jan. 2026
-
Grejo snapped his fingers for the cigarettes to be passed and lit one, but after a single long drag, Adi noticed, never smoked it again, instead clasping it between his fingers like a personal incense stick.—
Jonathan Miles,
Harpers Magazine,
27 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Its menu features a wide variety of options for seafood lovers, including crab cakes, sablefish, pan-seared scallops, and a French onion filet.—
Michael Guise,
CBS News,
28 Jan. 2026
-
Many eventually settled in North Beach, or Little Italy, and wound up catching salmon in the summer and crab in the winter.—
Becky Duffett,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
27 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
This civic attitude kicked into high gear as ICE bore down on the state.—
Eric Roper,
Mercury News,
31 Jan. 2026
-
These changes allowed the team to push performance higher without reducing the bore size, a key requirement for user experiments.—
Sujita Sinha,
Interesting Engineering,
28 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Many of Another Period’s best gags come out of its suffragette story line, led by old maid and eldest Bellacourt sister Hortense and her Newport Association of Gal Spinsters, or NAGS.—
Elle Carroll,
Vulture,
11 Aug. 2025
-
My dad was divorced, and my mom was an old maid by Belarusian standards.—
Diana Ruzova,
Los Angeles Times,
30 May 2025
Noun
-
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
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Not surprisingly, the overwhelming response from readers told me to stop being a killjoy.—
Sal Pizarro,
Mercury News,
2 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Party pooper.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/party%20pooper. Accessed 4 Feb. 2026.
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