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
-
The dollar amount was chosen arbitrarily based on what voters might accept, and some cynics saw it as a move by a pro-development commission to cozy up to environmentalists.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
9 Mar. 2026
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However, those cynics didn’t sound as enlightened when the Rockets were up 18 early in the fourth quarter Saturday night.—
William Guillory,
New York Times,
22 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Which poem, and why did the killjoys at the magazine turn it down?—
Anthony Lane,
New Yorker,
22 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Fishermen found lobsters and crabs painted black and weighed down by oil.—
Jeffrey Marlow,
New Yorker,
5 Apr. 2026
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Their seafood steam pots feature shrimp, clams, crabs, oysters, and even lobster tails, depending on your family's preferences.—
Valerie Fraser Luesse,
Southern Living,
1 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The pervasive popularity of the show and its creator will be the reason the complainers have no voice.—
Rich Heldenfels,
Boston Herald,
22 Mar. 2026
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If family needs cause drama, set kind boundaries and explain them to any complainers.—
Tarot.com,
New York Daily News,
2 Jan. 2026
Noun
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So far, the push into high-tech industries has not been able to offset the growth drags.—
Anniek Bao,Evelyn Cheng,
CNBC,
6 Mar. 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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Her books were their progeny, Stein acknowledged, and without Alice’s mothering—and typing, proofreading, cooking, sewing, shopping, bookkeeping, and warding off bores—they might not have been born.—
Judith Thurman,
New Yorker,
29 Sep. 2025
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Anyone who thinks English Heritage sites are run by bores is in for a surprise.—
Jordan Hoffman,
Entertainment Weekly,
12 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Spoilsports.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spoilsports. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.
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