spoilsport
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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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