Standard Lemma guide

killjoy

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Canada, US: /ˈkɪlˌd͡ʒɔɪ/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ɔɪ
  • CMU ARPABET: K IH1 L JH OY0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A person who is anti-fun, or prevents others from having fun.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: derogatory

Qualifier: occasionally endearing

Examples

  • December 10 2005, Sam Murphy in The Guardian, A sober thought Just in time for the party season, some old killjoys at the journal Medicine & Science In Sports & Exercise have released their findings on the effects on muscle of prolonged heavy alcohol intake (six weeks is prolonged, apparently). The bad news is that it seems too much boozing puts all that effort in the gym to waste - in the study, alcohol prevented the usual resistance-training-induced muscle response that leads to increased size and strength.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

someone who spoils the pleasure of others

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: spoilsport, wet blanket, party pooper

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: unwelcome person, persona non grata

Narrower terms: worrier, fuss-budget, fusspot, worrywart

History

Etymology

From kill + joy, first attested in 1776.