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
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of spoilsport
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
Who knows whether another variant will turn spoilsport next year.
—Rajrishi Singhal, Quartz, 10 Feb. 2022
Sorry for being a spoilsport.
—John F. Wasik, Forbes, 13 Oct. 2021
See All Example Sentences for spoilsport
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
Who knows whether another variant will turn spoilsport next year.
—Rajrishi Singhal, Quartz, 10 Feb. 2022
Sorry for being a spoilsport.
—John F. Wasik, Forbes, 13 Oct. 2021
See All Example Sentences for spoilsport
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spoilsport
Noun
-
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
Noun
-
The decline in public investment added to the drag on overall economic activity.—
Amanda Castro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 Sep. 2025
-
The crowd ate it up — to the point where the drag artists didn’t feel like opening acts, but like supreme rockstars.—
Cherry Jaymes,
Them.,
25 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
On the other hand, skeptics and cynics tend to be insistent right now that the clean-up activity is not going to last very long.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
18 Sep. 2025
-
Travis Kelce knows what the cynics might think of his relationship with Taylor Swift — two of the most famous people in America just happen to match up perfectly?—
Jason P. Frank,
Vulture,
12 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Employees, guests and residents were forced to hastily evacuate as a wildfire bore down.—
Ryan Heinsius,
NPR,
22 Sep. 2025
-
Sure, Nelson’s voice is good enough, but even duetting his songs with Ferrell — probably one of the most exciting, idiosyncratic figures in bluegrass Americana music right now — wasn’t enough to prevent his set from becoming a bore.—
Jared Kaufman,
Twin Cities,
21 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
The faculty experience has been that administrations often side with the complainers.—
Louis Menand,
New Yorker,
26 Sep. 2025
-
Recognize Quieter Customers Celebrate the non-complainers.—
Expert Panel®,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Appetizer options include mini crab cakes and salmon bites, served alongside an assortment of specialty cocktails to wash it all down.—
Tanasia Kenney,
Charlotte Observer,
26 Sep. 2025
-
See it In Thanh Hoa, Vietnam, fishers caught four crab-eating frogs, Fejervarya moodiei, marking the first record of this species in the province.—
Real-Time News team,
Miami Herald,
26 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Tired of looking like the grinch (can't help the hair).—
David Faris,
Newsweek,
27 Feb. 2025
-
The Pompano Beach, Fla. doesn’t play grinch alone; Veeze, Lil Yachty, Rob49, Juvenile, and B.G. also appear on the project.—
Preezy Brown,
VIBE.com,
27 Dec. 2024
Noun
-
Aleksander Barkov has covered him like a wet blanket at times, showcasing the two-way prowess that just earned him his third Selke Trophy.—
Daniel Nugent-Bowman,
New York Times,
16 June 2025
-
It’s stated routinely in my upcoming book The Deficit Delusion that the centralized and politicized allocation of goods, services and labor in sub-optimal fashion by politicians lays a wet blanket on economic growth.—
John Tamny,
Forbes.com,
7 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Spoilsport.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spoilsport. Accessed 2 Oct. 2025.
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