as in criticized
to subject (someone) to harsh public criticism
The press pilloried the judge for her decision.
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Recent Examples of pilloried
Toronto taxed Dodgers ace Blake Snell and pilloried his replacements.
—
Andy McCullough, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2025
Dem leadership has been pilloried by Dem voters for rolling over and not standing up to Trump.
—Carlo Versano, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Sep. 2025
Musk was pilloried by the woke crowd for making this an issue.
—Steve Forbes, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2025
Last year, in response to some political parodies that used images created by artificial intelligence, including one that pilloried Vice President Kamala Harris, the Legislature passed and Newsom signed two measures to outlaw such tomfoolery.
—Dan Walters, Mercury News, 5 Sep. 2025
The series has never strived to be anything more than opulent fluff, but it still gets consistently pilloried for its lack of realism.
—Inkoo Kang, New Yorker, 15 Aug. 2025
Andy McCullough, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2025
Dem leadership has been pilloried by Dem voters for rolling over and not standing up to Trump.
—Carlo Versano, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Sep. 2025
Musk was pilloried by the woke crowd for making this an issue.
—Steve Forbes, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2025
Last year, in response to some political parodies that used images created by artificial intelligence, including one that pilloried Vice President Kamala Harris, the Legislature passed and Newsom signed two measures to outlaw such tomfoolery.
—Dan Walters, Mercury News, 5 Sep. 2025
The series has never strived to be anything more than opulent fluff, but it still gets consistently pilloried for its lack of realism.
—Inkoo Kang, New Yorker, 15 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pilloried
Verb
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Commanders head coach Dan Quinn was criticized on social media for keeping Daniels in the game with the score already insurmountable.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
3 Nov. 2025
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The Michigan chapter of the Council on American–Islamic Relations criticized the FBI’s lack of transparency in the days after the arrests.—
Alaa Elassar,
CNN Money,
3 Nov. 2025
Verb
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At first, Westergaard blamed the breach on an employee who had accidentally left them open and walked off the job.—
Ava Kofman,
New Yorker,
3 Nov. 2025
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Bobbitt should have come forward to the board about the error then, Crile said, since it could have been blamed for the error.—
Rachel Royster,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
3 Nov. 2025
Verb
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This came after Nick Saban jokingly scolded himself for not fielding Sayin during their weeks-long overlap in 2023’s postseason at Alabama.—
Alex Kirshner,
New York Times,
2 Nov. 2025
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Trump, then in his first term as president, scolded police in a social media post for not protecting the statue.—
Gabe Whisnant,
MSNBC Newsweek,
27 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Spanberger condemned the messages and political violence generally, but didn't withdraw or double down on her endorsement of Jones.—
Jahd Khalil,
NPR,
2 Nov. 2025
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Critics from across the political spectrum, including prominent Jewish leaders, condemned the discussion as legitimizing antisemitic and racist rhetoric.—
Gabe Whisnant,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Oct. 2025
Verb
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As many as a third of LGBTQ+ people who were arrested were denounced, that is reported to the Nazis, by their friends and family.—
Kate Sosin,
Them.,
31 Oct. 2025
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The policy has drawn sharp criticism from human rights organizations and international law experts, who have denounced the attacks as extrajudicial killings.—
Antonio María Delgado,
Miami Herald,
30 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pilloried.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pilloried. Accessed 8 Nov. 2025.
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