as in sitting duck
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Recent Examples of lightning rod
Mike Blake | Reuters ABC's indefinite suspension of Jimmy Kimmel's late-night talk show has become a cultural lightning rod.
—
Alex Harring, CNBC, 19 Sep. 2025
The film attempts to thread more than 3,000 hours of footage collected between 2018 and 2024 into an unflinching portrayal of West, a perennial lightning rod for controversy usually sparked by his own hand.
—Steven J. Horowitz, Variety, 18 Sep. 2025
The Chiefs continue to be a lightning rod for criticism, including some surprising comments from Rob Gronkowski this week.
—Scott Chasen, Kansas City Star, 14 Sep. 2025
The Baldwins have been a public lightning rod with their outspoken political views and social-media controversies.
—Bryan Alexander, USA Today, 4 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for lightning rod
Alex Harring, CNBC, 19 Sep. 2025
The film attempts to thread more than 3,000 hours of footage collected between 2018 and 2024 into an unflinching portrayal of West, a perennial lightning rod for controversy usually sparked by his own hand.
—Steven J. Horowitz, Variety, 18 Sep. 2025
The Chiefs continue to be a lightning rod for criticism, including some surprising comments from Rob Gronkowski this week.
—Scott Chasen, Kansas City Star, 14 Sep. 2025
The Baldwins have been a public lightning rod with their outspoken political views and social-media controversies.
—Bryan Alexander, USA Today, 4 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for lightning rod
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lightning rod
Noun
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Those lucky/sitting ducks were at the center of a manifold creative pressure, like the core of a planet pulled spherical by gravity.—
Kate Colby
October 2,
Literary Hub,
2 Oct. 2025
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Bermuda faces a rare one-two punch Bermuda is a sitting duck in the path of twin storms that could deliver a punishing blow this week, even for the seasoned and storm-tested islands.—
Briana Waxman,
CNN Money,
30 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Gordie is invisible to his mother and a whipping boy to his father.—
Sezin Devi Koehler September 1,
EW.com,
1 Sep. 2025
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Yet Hojlund only has to look at Scott McTominay and how Conte revitalised his career in Naples after years of being a United whipping boy by some sections of the fan base.—
Emmet Gates,
Forbes.com,
30 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Yes, that equaled zero targets, but Washington equaled zero yards on five targets and four receptions.—
Jake Ciely,
New York Times,
7 Oct. 2025
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Without the protection of the non-statutory labor exemption, the NFL’s salary cap and other limitations on players’ earning opportunities became targets for antitrust law.—
Michael McCann,
Sportico.com,
7 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Bystanders in the area helped authorities lift part of the helicopter and get the victim out, who was then loaded into an ambulance, according to Sylvia.—
Thao Nguyen,
USA Today,
7 Oct. 2025
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The first arriving engine found one of the victims had been trapped under the helicopter, Sylvia said.—
Ishani Desai,
Sacbee.com,
7 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Same goes for the stretch marks on my butt.—
Francesca Krempa,
StyleCaster,
4 Oct. 2025
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Another depicts a man riding a camel in Egypt with a sticker on the camel's butt.—
Kelli Arseneau,
jsonline.com,
2 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Meanwhile, a story from Indiana explains how one bird species skewers its prey on barbed wire, then returns for it later.—
Dinah Voyles Pulver,
USA Today,
3 Oct. 2025
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As another new spooky season option, this new offering from Netflix is a survival series from the perspective of nature's prey.—
DeVonne Goode,
Parents,
2 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Lightning rod.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lightning%20rod. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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