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
Tired of looking like the grinch (can't help the hair).
—
David Faris, Newsweek, 27 Feb. 2025
Tired of looking like the grinch (can't help the hair).
—David Faris, Newsweek, 27 Feb. 2025
Tired of looking like the grinch (can't help the hair).
—David Faris, Newsweek, 2 Feb. 2025
Tired of looking like the grinch (can't help the hair).
—Kevin Lynn, Newsweek, 6 Jan. 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
Buy Now 08 of 26 'How My Neighbor Stole Christmas' by Meghan Quinn
A neighborhood grinch learns the true meaning of Christmas courtesy of his sunshiny neighbor in How My Neighbor Stole Christmas.
—Sabienna Bowman, People.com, 14 Dec. 2024
But seriously, the Freedom Caucus and anti-establishment wing that ousted McCarthy over cutting that initial spending deal stands ready to be the grinch in this scenario.
—Leah Askarinam, ABC News, 21 Nov. 2023
Which brings us to this Christmas and a pernicious grinch named COVID who has teamed up with the Grim Reaper to batter us with waves of record-setting deaths, a resurgence of jobless claims and another lockdown here and in much of California.
—San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Dec. 2020
David Faris, Newsweek, 27 Feb. 2025
Tired of looking like the grinch (can't help the hair).
—David Faris, Newsweek, 27 Feb. 2025
Tired of looking like the grinch (can't help the hair).
—David Faris, Newsweek, 2 Feb. 2025
Tired of looking like the grinch (can't help the hair).
—Kevin Lynn, Newsweek, 6 Jan. 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
Buy Now 08 of 26 'How My Neighbor Stole Christmas' by Meghan Quinn
A neighborhood grinch learns the true meaning of Christmas courtesy of his sunshiny neighbor in How My Neighbor Stole Christmas.
—Sabienna Bowman, People.com, 14 Dec. 2024
But seriously, the Freedom Caucus and anti-establishment wing that ousted McCarthy over cutting that initial spending deal stands ready to be the grinch in this scenario.
—Leah Askarinam, ABC News, 21 Nov. 2023
Which brings us to this Christmas and a pernicious grinch named COVID who has teamed up with the Grim Reaper to batter us with waves of record-setting deaths, a resurgence of jobless claims and another lockdown here and in much of California.
—San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Dec. 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for grinch
Noun
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In fact, cynics do worse on cognitive tests and have a harder time spotting liars than non-cynics.—
Jamil Zaki,
TIME,
3 Sep. 2024
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And yes, there are plenty of options for V-Day cynics, including He's Just Not That Into You and a particularly bloody '80s slasher flick.—
Glamour,
Glamour,
7 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Those unfamiliar with the play may lose the thread in this iambic marathon as Izzard madly dashes to and fro, making the first act drag.—
Karen D'Souza,
Mercury News,
7 Apr. 2025
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There is room for optimism that investors could eventually get some dessert by way of tax cuts and deregulation, offsetting the drag from tariffs.—
Bill Stone,
Forbes.com,
6 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Montana, the Badgers’ opening-round foe, Big Sky champs and perennial Greeley killjoys, are already used to running around at altitude.—
Sean Keeler,
The Denver Post,
19 Mar. 2025
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Within the dog-button community, Horowitz is regarded as a killjoy.—
Camille Bromley Gabra Zackman Krish Seenivasan David Mason,
New York Times,
6 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Start your meal with a basket of mini crab cakes, then pick an under-the-sea entrée ranging from jerked tuna tacos to a North Carolina shrimp burger to a seafood platter with your choice of shrimp, scallops, flounder, clam strips, catfish, chicken tenders, or crab cakes.—
Tara Massouleh McCay,
Southern Living,
18 Apr. 2025
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Summer will bring bay scallops still in their shells, along with soft-shell crabs.—
Betty Hallock,
Los Angeles Times,
16 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Suddenly, the Republicans were the spoilsports who couldn’t take the joke, a position stereotypically held by politically correct liberals.—
Rebecca Jennings,
Vox,
9 Aug. 2024
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Millennial workers are increasingly becoming the office spoilsports, with young people increasingly likely to be in it for the money rather than for fun, as years of economic turmoil force them to keep their heads down, collect their monthly paychecks, and fight for a promotion.—
BYRyan Hogg,
Fortune Europe,
26 June 2024
Noun
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Both were crashing bores because of the literally nauseating behavior of fans and the uncaring attitude of the proprietors.—
Miami Herald Archives,
Miami Herald,
3 Apr. 2025
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With the same milky blue water as the Blue Lagoon and a fraction of the crowd, these are the hot springs of your dreams, fed from a bore hole at a scorching 266 degrees before the water cools to between 96 and 104 degrees.—
Maggie Fuller,
AFAR Media,
1 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Despite his literal change of heart, the Grinch continues to symbolize holiday party poopers everywhere.—
Mike Miller,
People.com,
19 Dec. 2024
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Despite his literal change of heart, the Grinch continues to symbolize holiday party poopers everywhere.—
Mike Miller,
People.com,
19 Dec. 2024
Noun
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Just wait until tech investors are smothered by the ultimate wet blanket: the uncharted territory of Trump tariffs.—
Allison Morrow,
CNN Money,
1 Apr. 2025
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The last thing a drag queen should be is a wet blanket; RuPaul is the ultimate hang.—
Jason P. Frank,
Vulture,
14 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Grinch.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/grinch. Accessed 21 Apr. 2025.
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