killjoyn.adj.
/ˈkɪldʒɔɪ/, U.S. /ˈkɪlˌdʒɔɪ/ A. n.
One who or that which destroys joy or pleasure; one who throws a gloom over social enjoyment.
ΘΠ
the mind > emotion > suffering > dejection > [noun] > depressing quality > depressing thing, person, or circumstances
cloudc1430
palla1450
melancholya1475
downdraughta1681
Job's comforter1738
damper1748
killjoy1776
wet blanket1810
down-drag1814
chill1821
dismals1829
shadow1855
down1856
a skeleton at the feast (or banquet)1857
wet blanket1857
depressor1868
dampener1887
sorry-go-round1898
wet smack1927
bringdown1935
droopy drawers1939
big chill1943
party pooper1947
misery1951
party poop1951
grinch1966
downer1969
1776 C. Burney Gen. Hist. Music I. 466 (note) The Gods were not then, says M. Rousseau, regarded as kill-joys, and shut out of convivial meetings.
1863 ‘G. Eliot’ Romola II. v. 49 Licentious young men, who detested him as the kill-joy of Florence.
1896 J. P. Mahaffy in Chautauquan Oct. 49/2 Reserve, if apparent, is the real kill-joy of conversation.
B. adj.
That kills or puts an end to joy.
Π
1821 W. Scott Pirate I. i. 14 His kill-joy visage will never again stop the bottle in its round.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1901; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.adj.1776