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spoilsport

noun

ˈspȯi(-ə)l-ˌspȯrt How to pronounce spoilsport (audio)
Definition of spoilsportnext
as in killjoy
a person who spoils the pleasure of others if you don't want to play, at least don't be a spoilsport

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 spoilsport The spoilsports need to get back to their home state and do the job which their constituents elected them to do. — Letters To The Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 8 Aug. 2025 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 This spoilsport effort has become fodder for late-night comedy routines and gripes about liberal overlords such as Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg banishing all fun. — Chicago Tribune, Twin Cities, 1 Feb. 2024 Be prepared to be labelled humourless, difficult, a spoilsport, and a ruiner of parties, meetings, dinners, and picnics. — Natalie Gil, refinery29.com, 11 July 2023 See All Example Sentences for spoilsport
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spoilsport
  1. killjoy
  2. drag
  3. cynic
  4. bore
  5. complainer
  6. crab
  7. grinch
  8. wet blanket
Noun
  • In the end, at the risk of sounding like a killjoy, a real way to save the planet and save money is to just buy and produce less.
    — Kara McGrath, Allure, 22 Apr. 2026
  • Which poem, and why did the killjoys at the magazine turn it down?
    — Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 22 Mar. 2026
Definition of killjoy
Noun
  • These new pieces strike other satellites and rockets, generating even more debris faster than atmospheric drag can remove it.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 9 Sep. 2026
  • All the teams needed tow tactics — where one car leads another to reduce drag and increase speed with a slipstream given to the chasing car — to get the quickest lap times because of Monza’s long straights.
    — Madeline Coleman, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of drag
Noun
  • That the earnestness the genre requires galls us cynics, who love to hide in our books, away from all those pesky bodies in the first place?
    — Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 13 Aug. 2026
  • Questions about whose interests Infantino is serving have developed beyond average cynics who tend to suspect this type of thing.
    — Simon Hughes, New York Times, 1 Aug. 2026
Definition of cynic
Noun
  • Its creators expected coding and debugging effort to fall to less than one-fifth, and early use bore that out.
    — Boris Kontsevoi, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2026
  • But as the late maximalist designer Iris Apfel was fond of saying, more is more, and less is a bore.
    — Benjamin Moser, Travel + Leisure, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of bore
Noun
  • My ‘Deborah Vance Show senior writer’ persona was kind of a rude complainer with an incipient alcohol problem.
    — Merrill Markoe, Deadline, 21 Aug. 2026
  • Are they deluded into thinking that the complainers are just a squeaky wheel minority and the majority of fans are happy with it?
    — Jeremy Rutherford, New York Times, 13 July 2026
Definition of complainer
Noun
  • Spicy tuna and crab mix was held in the temperature danger zone almost at ambient temperature.
    — Sacbee.com, Sacbee.com, 11 Sep. 2026
  • They are found from Cape Cod to Florida and eat fish, smaller sharks, octopus, squid, eels, rays, shrimp and crab.
    — Neal Riley, CBS News, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of crab
Noun
  • However, a grinch mascot, who was on cleanup duty at the event, stepped in and saved the wedding, per WTAE.
    — Kimberlee Speakman, PEOPLE, 28 Aug. 2026
  • The nonprofit donated almost $200,000 to the church for the materials a grinch stole.
    — Dawn White, CBS News, 10 Dec. 2025
Definition of grinch
Noun
  • Games still need to be played, but after having a wet blanket like Billy Napier as their head coach for four years, Florida fans are ready to welcome a psycho like Sumrall to The Swamp with open arms.
    — Austin Perry OutKick, FOXNews.com, 23 July 2026
  • The extra layer of complexity and stagnation feels like a wet blanket being thrown over our summer plans.
    — Lisa Stardust, Vogue, 15 July 2026
Definition of wet blanket

Browse Nearby Words

spoils (for)
spoilsport
spoilsports
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Cite this Entry

“Spoilsport.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spoilsport. Accessed 15 Sep. 2026.

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