as in cynics
a person who spoils the pleasure of others
his perpetually negative attitude made him a real killjoy when others were trying to have fun
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Recent Examples of killjoys
Which poem, and why did the killjoys at the magazine turn it down?
—
Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 22 Mar. 2026
Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 22 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for killjoys
Noun
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Of course, cynics would say this is an easy way to get laughs, but Galifianakis’ quick wit ensures the unfiltered youngsters don’t always take center stage.—
Jon O'Brien,
IndieWire,
22 Apr. 2026
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The cynics are figures like Sam Bankman-Fried, who built a fortune off of a crypto exchange called FTX, which crashed and burned in the fall of 2022, eventually sending Bankman-Fried to prison for fraud.—
Jack Crosbie,
Rolling Stone,
7 Apr. 2026
Noun
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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
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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The tide pools around Haystack and elsewhere along Cannon Beach are extraordinary, with colorful sea stars, anemones, crabs, snails, coral, sponges, and sea slugs.—
Kara Williams,
USA Today,
25 Apr. 2026
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The beak — also called the jaw — is the only rigid portion, made of chitin, a tough material also found in the shells of crabs, lobsters and insects.—
Ryan Brennan,
Miami Herald,
24 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The drags posed by tariffs and interest expense, as well as the tailwinds from foreign exchange fluctuations, were left unchanged.—
Zev Fima,
CNBC,
24 Apr. 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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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
Cite this Entry
“Killjoys.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/killjoys. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
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