spoilsport
See also: spoil-sport
English edit
Alternative forms edit
- spoil-sport (dated)
Etymology edit
From the verbal expression spoil sport (“ruin the amusement”).
Pronunciation edit
- (UK) IPA(key): /ˈspɔɪl.spɔːt/
- (US) IPA(key): /ˈspɔɪl.spɔɹt/
Audio (US) (file) Audio (AU) (file) - Rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ)t
Noun edit
spoilsport (plural spoilsports)
- Someone who puts an end to others' fun, especially harmless fun.
- 1908, Edward Morgan Forster, A Room with a View, Chapter XIV:
- I know I am a sad spoilsport, but it would make me wretched.
- 1912, George Bernard Shaw, Androcles and the Lion, Act II:
- He looks a spoilsport. There are men in whose presence it is impossible to have any fun: […]
Synonyms edit
- killjoy, party pooper; see also Thesaurus:spoilsport
Adjective edit
spoilsport (comparative more spoilsport, superlative most spoilsport)
- Like a spoilsport.
- 2019 September 10, Phil McNulty, “'England horribly fallible in defence' against Kosovo in Euro 2020 qualifying”, in BBC Sport[1]:
- It may seem somewhat spoilsport to focus in on this negative after another important victory but to ignore it would be delusion. Southgate will not be letting it escape his attention.
Translations edit
someone who puts an end to harmless fun
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