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
  • This capital intensive model forces SpaceX to rely heavily on debt financing or external liquidity to bridge cash deficits, a dynamic analysts warn remains a key drag on market sentiment.
    — , CNBC, 21 Oct. 2026
  • This reduces the turbulence around the suspension and in the trailer’s wake, and lowers the aerodynamic drag.
    — Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of drag
Noun
  • Williams led the Bears to an NFC North title and a playoff victory last season, but some cynics think the Bears are due for a regression this season.
    — Dan Santaromita, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026
  • 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
Definition of cynic
Noun
  • Legend held that the Roman race had sprung from Mount Ida in Troy, whose name Cybele bore—Magna Mater Idaea.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 6 Oct. 2026
  • Snow recently did an in-depth shoot-out of quarter-bore cartridges, new and old.
    — John B. Snow, Outdoor Life, 24 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
  • Some species and some areas are worse off than others, but the general trend is bad, including for the state’s other two iconic seafood catches, halibut and crab.
    — Zach Helfand, New Yorker, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Scallop crudo, a wedge salad piled with jumbo lump crab and sharpened with wasabi dressing, and a lobster roll with saffron coleslaw sit comfortably alongside American classics like a double cheeseburger and fries.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Oct. 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
  • Martinez and Ishibashi play McConaughey and Harrelson’s real-life spouses like easily exasperated sitcom spouses, half disapproving wet blankets and half the only sane people in their respective families.
    — Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 23 Sep. 2026
  • 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
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 25 Oct. 2026.

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