grinch-like

9.3

A person who does not enjoy parties or celebrations and refuses to share, especially at holidays

adjective

: tacaño

Her grinch-like refusal to participate dampened everyone's enthusiasm.

Examples

He became increasingly grinch-like as the holiday season approached.
Don’t be so grinch-like; share some of your treats with us!
Don't be so grinch-like!
His grinch-like behavior ruined the holiday spirit.
His grinch-like demeanor made everyone reluctant to invite him to the festivities.
She always had a grinch-like attitude, refusing to donate even a small amount during the charity drive.
As the holiday approached, his grinch-like comments about celebrations began to irritate his friends.

Synonyms

churlish

vsgrinch-like

Formal

5 8.5

Rude and unkind in a way that upsets people

is ungenerous mainly around celebrations rather than being merely rude

chinchy

vsgrinch-like

Offensive

9.9

Not willing to spend money or share costs

is ungenerous mainly around celebrations rather than all the time

Antonyms

charitable

150 3.4

Showing kindness and being generous, especially by giving help or money to people in need

generous

79 1.2

Willing to forgive small mistakes and not be strict

How Ungenerous

grinch-like

9.3

tightfisted

Offensive

1 8.0

stingy

26 5.2

ungenerous

2 6.2

Surface Forms

grinch-like positive

Morphology

grinch-like = Grinch (transparent) = grinch + like

Formed by the productive adjective-forming suffix '-like' added to 'Grinch'; the meaning 'resembling a Grinch' is directly predictable.

Etymology

Grinch-like comes from the Dr. Seuss character Grinch, a green creature who hated Christmas and tried to steal holiday gifts and fun. So calling someone grinch-like means they are 'mean' or 'not generous' and they spoil other people's fun, especially at holidays.