Bad actors are counting on us to tear each other apart—to fall for the narcissism of small differences, to turn on our allies instead of our oppressors.
—
Andrew Weinstein,
Time,
12 Sep. 2025
Movie lovers tend to think of producers as dictators of formulas, oppressors of originality, the enemies of art, but that just reflects the unfortunate history of studio filmmaking in Hollywood and elsewhere.
For decades, generals, coup-plotters, and torturers walked free under the shield of amnesty laws passed after the country’s 21-year dictatorship.
—
Julia Vargas Jones,
CNN Money,
12 Sep. 2025
Each regime, from the Pahlavi dynasty to the Islamic Republic, claimed to uphold human rights and castigated its predecessors as torturers, only to ratchet up the incarceration of political opponents.
That is a nasty process which involves digging up Ambar’s still-fresh corpse, then subjecting it to various grisly indignities night after night as retribution gets visited upon our heroine’s persecutors.
—
Dennis Harvey,
Variety,
6 Aug. 2025
Using it to describe this week’s attack on Huwara – or other similar attacks in Israel or Palestine – effectively puts Israel in the place of the Jews’ historic persecutors.
Throughout the weekend, McIlroy and other European players sparred with fans, with some, including McIlroy, yelling back at hecklers, while others reportedly flashed middle fingers in response to fans’ jeers.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, which broke the news, Irons will play one of the film's antagonists, the leader of a secret order called the Watchers who keep an eye on immortals, viewing them as a threat to humanity.
—
Shania Russell,
Entertainment Weekly,
30 Sep. 2025
However, the actor had previously played antagonists in shows such as Lost, Being Human, Dexter, Revolution and The Tomorrow People.
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Share