as in cynics
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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Recent Examples of spoilsports
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
Letters To The Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 8 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spoilsports
Noun
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These supposed cynics and skeptics, two of whom had tens of millions of followers, have had their accounts suspended or banned in recent weeks as China’s internet regulator conducts a new cleanup of Chinese social media.—
New York Times,
New York Times,
8 Oct. 2025
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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
Noun
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According to a study published July 2 in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, crabs with more of these sensory hairs on their claws appear to recover faster when startled and may make bolder decisions.—
Laura Baisas,
Popular Science,
3 July 2025
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Get some fresh air outside at Tree of Life, an underwater fantasy with columns covered in shells and the bar’s teal tiles showing red coral, crabs and other aquatic life.—
Jennifer Kester,
Forbes.com,
3 July 2025
Noun
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The complainers are losing clients to the adapters, and the gap gets bigger every day.—
Jodie Cook,
Forbes.com,
23 June 2025
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Library officials claimed this was done as part of the normal weeding process, though that doesn’t explain why the library board was dissolved and a new one created with the complainers as members that tried to close all the library branches.—
Anthony Aycock
June 17,
Literary Hub,
17 June 2025
Noun
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Beyond the obvious drags—slower delivery, higher support costs, integration complexity, stifled innovation and AI adoption barriers—legacy systems accrue exit costs that grow exponentially with each dependent, incremental service.—
Barney Krishnan,
Forbes.com,
19 May 2026
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It's left Richard Lapsoey and his neighbors at the more than 220 units at Walnut Ridge Townhomes above the bridge, with few options to get to the main drags, adding possibly five to 10 minutes to their drives.—
Lauren Linder,
CBS News,
5 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Some resorts in the Mamanuca Islands are set to lose entire wings to the sea in the coming years, and drinking water in villages is already being infiltrated by salt from seawater seeping into ground bores.—
MIchelle Duff,
HollywoodReporter,
27 Apr. 2026
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Both westbound bores of the tunnel remained open.—
Tim Fang,
CBS News,
9 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Spoilsports.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spoilsports. Accessed 17 Jun. 2026.
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