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
But the Trump administration, which has regularly pilloried the policies of the Biden administration, saw the CHIPs act as a needless giveaway and is now hoping to make a profit off the funding that had been pledged to Intel.
—
Michelle L. Price, Fortune, 23 Aug. 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
One of the many contradictions of the Trump era is that he is both pilloried in the media, but also given a pass and graded on a curve at the same time.
—Carlo Versano, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 July 2025
That didn’t stop the Energy Department from pillorying the findings.
—Peter Elkind, ProPublica, 5 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for pillory
Michelle L. Price, Fortune, 23 Aug. 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
One of the many contradictions of the Trump era is that he is both pilloried in the media, but also given a pass and graded on a curve at the same time.
—Carlo Versano, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 July 2025
That didn’t stop the Energy Department from pillorying the findings.
—Peter Elkind, ProPublica, 5 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for pillory
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pillory
Verb
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Delta blames a global IT outage last summer for its performance problems.—
Christopher Elliott,
Forbes.com,
14 Sep. 2025
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The author compromises our trust in his appeal — likely unconsciously — by his blaming only one side.—
U T Readers,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
13 Sep. 2025
Verb
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More generally, the Nepalese public criticized the government’s measures disproportionate impact on ordinary users.—
Nir Kshetri,
The Conversation,
14 Sep. 2025
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In the wake of Charlie Kirk's assassination, Republicans on Sunday criticized some Democrats, suggesting language used by them contributed to Kirk's killing, claims that Democrats rejected.—
Lalee Ibssa,
ABC News,
14 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Shipp is tasked with scolding her father and delivering leaden exposition.—
Esther Zuckerman,
IndieWire,
11 Sep. 2025
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In Part 2, viewers see Morticia scold her children for lying to her, yet Morticia is keeping secrets from Wednesday about her past and family.—
Carly Thomas,
HollywoodReporter,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
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International organizations swiftly condemned the lethal crackdown by police and called for an independent investigation.—
Sugam Pokharel,
CNN Money,
9 Sep. 2025
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The United Kingdom and France condemned Israel's strikes in Doha in separate statements.—
Nadine El-Bawab,
ABC News,
9 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Hoffman, the lawmaker who was shot and wounded in June, and his family also issued a statement denouncing Kirk’s death.—
Mark Vancleave,
Twin Cities,
13 Sep. 2025
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Online posts, including one shared by the Idaho Freedom Foundation, a far-right think tank, denounced Berriochoa and prompted calls to the Department of Labor and even former employers and educators of Berriochoa.—
Shannon Tyler,
Idaho Statesman,
13 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pillory.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pillory. Accessed 16 Sep. 2025.
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