English Explanatory Dictionary

grinch

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A grouch or killjoy.
  2. A person who is aggressively intent on ruining the Christmas holidays for others.
verb
  1. To act like a grinch; to be a killjoy towards someone.

Pronunciation

/ɡɹɪnt͡ʃ/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-grinch.wav

Word forms

grinch grinches grinching grinched

Etymology

Named after the main character in a children's book by Dr. Seuss, How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1957). Coined as early as 1953, the term was initially used for a fictitious bird named the "Beagle-Beaked-Bald-Headed Grinch" in Scrambled Eggs Super!; it became associated with the character in a poem published in the May 1955 issue of Redbook, "The Hoobub and the Grinch". Likely a corruption of grouch.

Synonyms

grouch killjoy spoilsport addle-plot buzzkill cold fish dampener downer fun sponge grinch joy killer marplot miserabilist party pooper stick in the mud wet blanket wet rag

Derived words

grinch foot grinchily grinch paw grinchsome grinch toe grinchy
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