as in to blame
to subject (someone) to harsh public criticism
The press pilloried the judge for her decision.
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Recent Examples of pillory
Retirees are either pilloried as a drain on the state while those evading retirement, presidential candidates included, are viewed as out-of-touch geezers who need to make way for the young.
—
James Chappel / Made By History, TIME, 3 Jan. 2025
Some economists pilloried Biden at the time, saying the third round of stimulus relief was unnecessary, excessive and likely to overheat the economy.
—Daniel De Visé, USA TODAY, 15 Nov. 2024
The lack of activity was pilloried on sports talk radio and in various online Canucks fan spaces.
—Thomas Drance, The Athletic, 8 Mar. 2025
This man has been pilloried on social media plenty this season.
—Chris Branch, The Athletic, 14 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pillory
James Chappel / Made By History, TIME, 3 Jan. 2025
Some economists pilloried Biden at the time, saying the third round of stimulus relief was unnecessary, excessive and likely to overheat the economy.
—Daniel De Visé, USA TODAY, 15 Nov. 2024
The lack of activity was pilloried on sports talk radio and in various online Canucks fan spaces.
—Thomas Drance, The Athletic, 8 Mar. 2025
This man has been pilloried on social media plenty this season.
—Chris Branch, The Athletic, 14 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pillory
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pillory
Verb
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Partly to blame is high inflation, claimed Bankrate, which has increased by about 24% since the onset of the pandemic in 2020.—
Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez,
Fortune,
24 June 2025
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The lawsuit alleges the Tesla’s design was to blame for the car swerving out of its lane and not braking correctly, according to Reuters.—
Brian Niemietz,
New York Daily News,
24 June 2025
Verb
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At a time when establishing clarity of first principles has never been more urgent, UF’s law school practically dared anyone to criticize the award for whitewashing the Constitution.—
Orlando Sentinel,
The Orlando Sentinel,
27 June 2025
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The New York Times reported in May that 162 judges received threats in the six weeks after March 1, coinciding with harsh rhetoric criticizing judges who have ruled against the administration.—
Ella Lee,
The Hill,
26 June 2025
Verb
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Paul Krugman has referred to deficit hawks as ‘deficit scolds’, because the spend more time warning about the dangers of the deficit than fixing it.—
Mike O'Sullivan,
Forbes.com,
28 June 2025
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Musk and Gor reportedly clashed in Cabinet meetings where Musk scolded Gor over personnel disagreements in recent months.—
Ally Goelz,
The Washington Examiner,
19 June 2025
Verb
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Administration officials have sharply condemned the leak, and signaled that access to classified systems would be restricted.—
Nik Popli,
Time,
26 June 2025
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What to Know As Arab states rushed to condemn U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran's nuclear sites and to call for diplomacy, Syria was notably absent.—
Amira El-Fekki,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pillory.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pillory. Accessed 2 Jul. 2025.
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