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buzzkill

Or buzz kill

[buhz-kil]

noun

Slang.
  1. a person or thing that spoils the mood or the pleasure of others.

    Enforcement of strict park rules could be a buzzkill for concertgoers.



buzzkill

/ ˈbʌzˌkɪlə, ˈbʌzˌkɪl /

noun

  1. slang,  someone or something that stops people from enjoying themselves

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Word History and Origins

Origin of buzzkill1

First recorded in 1990–95; buzz ( def. ) (in the sense “feeling of excitement”) + kill 1 ( def. ) (in the sense “to spoil”)
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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The biggest buzzkill when planning a big vacation?

Empty seats aren’t just a game day buzzkill given their correlation to lost revenue.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Well, not to be a buzzkill, but so far Musk’s party is just the latest iteration of a consistently unsuccessful effort to build a political movement around Third Way–style austerity and other things people don’t actually want.

Read more on Slate

And after such a successful opening weekend, it’s no major surprise that the excerpt from the Variety write-up was received like a buzzkill showing up to a rager-in-progress.

Read more on Salon

Believe me, I’m completely aware that I sound like a Scrooge, a buzzkill harping and carping about innocuous movies that are meant to be little more than background noise while people scroll on their phones.

Read more on Salon

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