A person who spoils other people's fun or prevents them from enjoying themselves.
Compound of 'kill' plus 'joy,' first recorded in the 1770s when English speakers created this vivid metaphor for someone who eliminates happiness from a situation.
Killjoy is brilliantly blunt—it's not 'party dampener' or 'mood reducer,' but literally someone who MURDERS joy, which is why people remember the word and fear becoming one!
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