as in cynic
a person who spoils the pleasure of others
accused the mayor of being a grinch after he cancelled the city's annual holiday parade for budgetary reasons
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Recent Examples of grinch
The nonprofit donated almost $200,000 to the church for the materials a grinch stole.
—
Dawn White, CBS News, 10 Dec. 2025
To play off the flavor of the candy, the grinch-green dough has a subtle cinnamon flavor of its own.
—Alana Al-Hatlani, Southern Living, 30 Nov. 2025
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
American President Donald Trump doesn’t want to be the grinch that stole Christmas.
—Vicki M. Young, Footwear News, 3 Sep. 2019
Dawn White, CBS News, 10 Dec. 2025
To play off the flavor of the candy, the grinch-green dough has a subtle cinnamon flavor of its own.
—Alana Al-Hatlani, Southern Living, 30 Nov. 2025
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
American President Donald Trump doesn’t want to be the grinch that stole Christmas.
—Vicki M. Young, Footwear News, 3 Sep. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for grinch
Noun
-
This is not a home for doomers, cynics, or know-it-alls.—
Daphne Koller,
Big Think,
29 Jan. 2026
-
In a real life departure, cynics would say, truth is rewarded in the tests.—
John Hopewell,
Variety,
12 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Catherine, meanwhile, is just a drag.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Feb. 2026
-
The AirFish harnesses the ground effect, which occurs when air becomes compressed between a wing and a surface, producing lift and reducing drag.—
Angelica Ang,
Fortune,
9 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Such means of interpretation, according to a killjoy like Bellow, reduces the complexity, interiority, and negative capability of literature into the work of a cryptologist trying to crack a code, of an occultist parsing scripture for hidden meanings.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
23 Dec. 2025
-
Not surprisingly, the overwhelming response from readers told me to stop being a killjoy.—
Sal Pizarro,
Mercury News,
2 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
And there are plenty more infant critters in these Wildlife Photographer of the Year images, including a possum, a crab, kestrels and bear cubs galore.—
Maureen O'Hare,
CNN Money,
7 Feb. 2026
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Dinner is a playground of refreshing charm and joyful abandon; expect fresh takes like cavatelli with pepperoni butter or spaghetti alla chitarra with crab and tomato gravy.—
Chris Morocco,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
4 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Granted, this might simply be an old-fashioned spoilsport way to view the market.—
Michael Santoli,
CNBC,
10 Jan. 2026
-
No one likes a spoilsport, apparently.—
Bethy Squires,
Vulture,
22 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
If family needs cause drama, set kind boundaries and explain them to any complainers.—
Tarot.com,
New York Daily News,
2 Jan. 2026
-
The faculty experience has been that administrations often side with the complainers.—
Louis Menand,
New Yorker,
26 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Marchand did not see the ice in OT but calmly stepped to the center dot, bore in on Korpisalo and beat him over the glove with a pretty backhander, a move Pastrnak knows well.—
Steve Conroy,
Boston Herald,
5 Feb. 2026
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This civic attitude kicked into high gear as ICE bore down on the state.—
Eric Roper,
Mercury News,
31 Jan. 2026
Noun
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The biggest party poopers recently have been Croatia, another European nation who finished second and third at the World Cups in 2018 and 2022 respectively.—
Michael Cox,
New York Times,
11 Oct. 2025
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But in their quest to make history, the guests turned into party poopers.—
The San Diego Union Tribune,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
1 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Grinch.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/grinch. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
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