as in sitting duck
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Recent Examples of lightning rod
Even before The Traitors, Underwood has been a lightning rod for reality fans.
—
Chris Murphy, Vanity Fair, 26 Feb. 2026
With Las Vegas rebuilding a thin roster and Philadelphia looking to calm the waters around lightning rod quarterback Jalen Hurts, sources believe there is a good chance both players could be dealt.
—Pat Leonard, New York Daily News, 26 Feb. 2026
Amid the fractious national political environment, the Netflix-WBD deal has become a lightning rod for critics.
—Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 26 Feb. 2026
Giuffre Roberts became a lightning rod to many people who said they'd been abused or trafficked by Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell.
—Laura Trujillo, USA Today, 21 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for lightning rod
Chris Murphy, Vanity Fair, 26 Feb. 2026
With Las Vegas rebuilding a thin roster and Philadelphia looking to calm the waters around lightning rod quarterback Jalen Hurts, sources believe there is a good chance both players could be dealt.
—Pat Leonard, New York Daily News, 26 Feb. 2026
Amid the fractious national political environment, the Netflix-WBD deal has become a lightning rod for critics.
—Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 26 Feb. 2026
Giuffre Roberts became a lightning rod to many people who said they'd been abused or trafficked by Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell.
—Laura Trujillo, USA Today, 21 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for lightning rod
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lightning rod
Noun
-
Other than Adobe, which is expensive but very good, these companies are not sitting ducks.—
Jim Cramer,
CNBC,
17 Feb. 2026
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In this case, that makes Dumars and his team sitting ducks for anyone else with designs on their score.—
Peter Debruge,
Variety,
22 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The middle class or big corporations don’t want to become the mayor’s whipping boy.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
20 Feb. 2026
-
There will always be whipping boys at the World Cup, a team who arrive underprepared or in chaos of some description.—
Nick Miller,
New York Times,
13 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Dubai International Airport, the busiest airport in the world, was one of the targets.—
Robert Stewart,
The Washington Examiner,
8 Mar. 2026
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In military parlance, this usually translates to one attack on a specific target that might involve multiple weapons.—
Christopher McFadden,
Interesting Engineering,
8 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The March 2 indictments allege that Brigham used Snapchat and text messages to talk to his victim, at one point receiving a photo of the girl’s genitalia.—
Julia Coin,
Charlotte Observer,
6 Mar. 2026
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In some cases, the department inadvertently released nude photos showing the faces of potential victims as well as names, email addresses and other identifying information that was either unredacted or not fully obscured.—
Alanna Durkin Richer,
Fortune,
6 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Everybody gets their butt kicked in this game.—
Dan Hayes,
New York Times,
6 Mar. 2026
-
The pants have that mid-rise, butt-lifting upper, but a leg that graduates into a looser, vintage fit.—
Annie Blackman,
InStyle,
3 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The surrounding ecosystem at the discovery site also supports frogs, crickets, and beetles that may serve as prey for the scorpion, according to the study.—
Hanna Wickes,
Charlotte Observer,
10 Mar. 2026
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That same habitat supports frogs, crickets and beetles — creatures that may serve as prey for the little scorpion.—
Hanna Wickes,
Miami Herald,
10 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Lightning rod.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lightning%20rod. Accessed 13 Mar. 2026.
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