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Glite Dictionary
to ruin the mood

to ruin the mood

3 4.1
Make people feel less happy in a situation
  • phrasal verb
  • Informal
translation icon : estropear el ambiente
  • -Can't you see you're ruining the mood?
  • want to ruin the mood

But here's a catch, showman touching them the wrong way can ruin the mood instantly.

Examples

Synonyms

to spoil
vsto ruin the mood
80 2.8

To make something less good or enjoyable

focuses specifically on harming the shared pleasant atmosphere rather than any damage
to sadden
vsto ruin the mood
76 2.3

To make someone feel sad

is about spoiling the social atmosphere rather than causing personal sadness
to dishearten
vsto ruin the mood
8 5.3

To make someone lose hope or confidence

affects the external pleasant atmosphere rather than causing internal loss of hope
to kill the mood
vsto ruin the mood
  • Informal
5 6.2

To end a pleasant situation suddenly by saying or doing something awkward that makes people feel bad

is about damaging the atmosphere more generally rather than sudden disruption
to dampen spirits
vsto ruin the mood
2 4.9

Make someone feel less happy and excited

focuses on harming the surrounding pleasant atmosphere rather than only lowering cheer
to rain on someone's parade
vsto ruin the mood
  • Informal
1 7.4

Make someone less happy or excited by pointing out problems

is about spoiling the atmosphere itself rather than only criticizing plans
to disgruntle
vsto ruin the mood
1 8.0

To make someone feel unhappy or annoyed

focuses on damaging the pleasant atmosphere rather than just personal displeasure
to shit in someone's cereal
vsto ruin the mood
  • Offensive
9.9

To spoil someone's good mood or stop them enjoying something

is less rude and more neutral when removing a pleasant atmosphere
to take the jam out of someone's doughnut
vsto ruin the mood
  • Informal
9.9

To make someone feel disappointed or upset

targets the wider pleasant atmosphere rather than only one person's disappointment
to take the shine out of
vsto ruin the mood
  • Informal
7.3

To make something less enjoyable or impressive

reduces the overall pleasant atmosphere rather than only dimming an object's appeal
to take the gilt off the gingerbread
vsto ruin the mood
  • Archaic
9.9

Make something seem less special or exciting than before

affects the shared pleasant atmosphere rather than only lowering perceived excitement

Antonyms

to uplift
23 3.2

To make someone feel happier and more hopeful

to brighten the room
  • Informal
3.0

To make a room feel happier and more lively

How Spoiled

to kill the mood
  • Informal
5 6.2
to ruin the mood
  • Informal
3 4.1

Surface Forms

ruin the mood infinitive
ruined the mood past
ruined the mood past participle
ruining the mood present participle
ruins the mood third person singular

Morphology

ruin + the + mood

The meaning 'to spoil or destroy the pleasant atmosphere' is directly and predictably derived from combining 'ruin' (to cause something to lose value or function) with 'mood' (the prevailing emotional atmosphere); the article 'the' is grammatical only. This is a regular verb + noun compositional pattern found across languages, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words would readily infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

Ruin the mood paints a clear picture: imagine someone at a happy party who spills a drink on the cake or makes a sad remark, and the good feeling suddenly stops. Here ruin means to break and mood means the good feeling, so to ruin the mood means 'to spoil the pleasant atmosphere'.