PILLORYING Synonyms: 79 Similar and Opposite Words

pillorying

verb

present participle of pillory

as in criticizing

to subject (someone) to harsh public criticism The press pilloried the judge for her decision.

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for pillorying

Verb

Pentecostal parents Ruth and Marius were accused of domestic violence, with worldwide protests criticizing what dissenters called harsh and hasty steps taken by Norwegian social workers without proper evidence.

— Tomris Laffly, Time, 23 Oct. 2026
Cofer is criticizing Guerra’s absence from the vote and is asking him to publicly state his position on the partnership.

— Jennah Pendleton, Sacbee.com, 23 Oct. 2026

Definition of criticizing

Verb

The Wall Street Journal reported that Musk ordered the shift, a claim that was bolstered by statements from Marco Rubio and Pete Hegseth blaming Musk’s SpaceX for any change.

— Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 22 Oct. 2026
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner earlier in October said that Lewis was acquitted in a previous murder case, blaming police misconduct for the outcome.

— Adam Sabes, FOXNews.com, 22 Oct. 2026

Definition of blaming

Verb

By the time his daughter shows up, flanked by her mom and upright dentist stepdad, Lee’s moved on from scolding the room to thanking his mother for believing him.

— Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 15 Oct. 2026
Others criticized Anderson for seemingly scolding fans and trying to tell them where to sit.

— James Hibberd, HollywoodReporter, 5 Oct. 2026

Definition of scolding

Verb

López’s murder sparked global outcry, with Pope Francis, the United Nations and the human rights arm of the Organization of American States condemning the incident and calling for an independent investigation.

— Claire Heddles, Miami Herald, 23 Oct. 2026
Acton spent Tuesday condemning Ramaswamy for the ad even before his campaign confirmed its provenance.

— Julie Carr Smyth, Los Angeles Times, 21 Oct. 2026

Definition of condemning

Verb

But critics, like the Civic Federation, are denouncing the budget plan, calling it an unacceptable abdication of responsibility to meet the fiscal realities facing the city.

— Adam Harrington, CBS News, 22 Oct. 2026
What began with peaceful protests by high school students demanding better conditions at schools has morphed into roiling protests nationwide denouncing rising living costs and inequities in French society.

— Michael Finnegan, Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2026

Definition of denouncing

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

pillory

pillorying

pillowy

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Pillorying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pillorying. Accessed 26 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of pillorying

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

disparate

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Popular in Wordplay

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE

Popular

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Games & Quizzes