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Word for reminder of inconvenient truths

English Language & Usage Asked by Jack Of Blades on February 20, 2021

What do you call a person who constantly tells others things they don’t want to hear even though it’s true? (Maybe even revels in their dismay)

Something along the lines of Person A telling Person B that Person B’s laziness is B’s problem for something. Person B is in denial of it even though it is true, and hates hearing it. Person A likes telling B and others things like these that they hate to hear, but are true. What is Person A?

Another example would be someone who unwarrantedly goes into detail about the things that can go horribly wrong when someone dies(like being falsely remembered as a criminal), to people who are squeamish about it, fear it, had some bad experiences with relatives in that position etc.

I thought “doomsayer” at first perhaps, but that’s more about predicting inconvenient events or disasters, not about the way things are now or about something people hide that someone else uncovers or narrates to their dismay. “Abuser” isn’t specific enough. “Gloater” is more about the speaker’s ego and prestige, while this is more about one person trying to sort of tear others down.

2 Answers

"Cassandra" comes to my mind.

But what if the reminder of the inconvenient truths is actually well-meaning? What is the word in that case?

Answered by user392935 on February 20, 2021

Would "killjoy" work for you? My grandfather would have said this person was a "crepehanger," but I haven't heard that word in years.

Answered by Argent on February 20, 2021

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