"Debbie Downer" meaning in English

See Debbie Downer in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

Forms: Debbie Downers [plural]
Etymology: Popularized as the name of a recurring character on the comedy show Saturday Night Live. Head templates: {{en-noun|head=Debbie Downer}} Debbie Downer (plural Debbie Downers)
  1. (informal, derogatory) A naysayer; one whose negative remarks depress or dissuade others. Wikipedia link: Debbie Downer, Saturday Night Live Tags: derogatory, informal Categories (topical): People, Personality Synonyms: negative Nancy, negative Nelly Related terms: doubting Thomas, gloomy Gus
    Sense id: en-Debbie_Downer-en-noun-7SksLDU1 Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries

Inflected forms

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  "etymology_text": "Popularized as the name of a recurring character on the comedy show Saturday Night Live.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "Debbie Downers",
      "tags": [
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  "head_templates": [
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      "expansion": "Debbie Downer (plural Debbie Downers)",
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  "lang_code": "en",
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  "senses": [
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      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
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          "orig": "en:People",
          "parents": [
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            "Fundamental"
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          "source": "w"
        },
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          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Personality",
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      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "I don't want to be a Debbie Downer, but…",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2021, Thomas L. Norris, A Fresh Cup of Counseling, Wipf and Stock Publishers, →ISBN:",
          "text": "Everyone has met a Debbie Downer. They are filled with complaints, see everything darkly, and feel like a victim of life. And that is the energy they bring to themselves.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A naysayer; one whose negative remarks depress or dissuade others."
      ],
      "id": "en-Debbie_Downer-en-noun-7SksLDU1",
      "links": [
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        [
          "naysayer",
          "naysayer"
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        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(informal, derogatory) A naysayer; one whose negative remarks depress or dissuade others."
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "word": "doubting Thomas"
        },
        {
          "word": "gloomy Gus"
        }
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "negative Nancy"
        },
        {
          "word": "negative Nelly"
        }
      ],
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        "derogatory",
        "informal"
      ],
      "wikipedia": [
        "Debbie Downer",
        "Saturday Night Live"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "Debbie Downer"
}
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  "forms": [
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  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "related": [
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    {
      "word": "gloomy Gus"
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          "text": "I don't want to be a Debbie Downer, but…",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2021, Thomas L. Norris, A Fresh Cup of Counseling, Wipf and Stock Publishers, →ISBN:",
          "text": "Everyone has met a Debbie Downer. They are filled with complaints, see everything darkly, and feel like a victim of life. And that is the energy they bring to themselves.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A naysayer; one whose negative remarks depress or dissuade others."
      ],
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        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(informal, derogatory) A naysayer; one whose negative remarks depress or dissuade others."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "derogatory",
        "informal"
      ],
      "wikipedia": [
        "Debbie Downer",
        "Saturday Night Live"
      ]
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  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "negative Nancy"
    },
    {
      "word": "negative Nelly"
    }
  ],
  "word": "Debbie Downer"
}

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This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-12-21 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-12-04 using wiktextract (d8cb2f3 and 4e554ae). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

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