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Recent Examples of scapegoat
As in prior moral panics, the technology proved to be an easy and tangible scapegoat, which enabled Americans to avoid grappling with the complex social factors—like deindustrialization, urban decay, and disillusioned suburban children—that led to a combustible situation ripe for tragedy.
—
Time, 8 Oct. 2025
Losing the first two games to the Blue Jays has not gone down well in New York, and the manager is usually the first scapegoat when things go wrong.
—MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Oct. 2025
Convenient scapegoat The council is widely considered unreformable because neither America nor Russia and China would ever contemplate giving up the veto privilege that gums up what could be an international peacekeeping organ.
—Andreas Kluth, Mercury News, 26 Sep. 2025
Intergenerational trauma has been a popular scapegoat for narratives on TV and in horror films over the past decade.
—Erin Qualey, Vulture, 25 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for scapegoat
Time, 8 Oct. 2025
Losing the first two games to the Blue Jays has not gone down well in New York, and the manager is usually the first scapegoat when things go wrong.
—MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Oct. 2025
Convenient scapegoat The council is widely considered unreformable because neither America nor Russia and China would ever contemplate giving up the veto privilege that gums up what could be an international peacekeeping organ.
—Andreas Kluth, Mercury News, 26 Sep. 2025
Intergenerational trauma has been a popular scapegoat for narratives on TV and in horror films over the past decade.
—Erin Qualey, Vulture, 25 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for scapegoat
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scapegoat
Noun
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The title especially stings for the many survivors of violence and persecution under Suharto’s rule – and the families of his victims.—
Jessie Yeung,
CNN Money,
11 Nov. 2025
-
In an email, Victoria Police confirmed the victims were a 33-year-old woman and a 7-year-old boy from Doveton.—
Gabrielle Rockson,
PEOPLE,
10 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Yes, potential excuses exist, such as the Tigers’ switch to Daniels, a senior Stanford transfer whose tremendous performance (353 yards passing and two touchdowns, 89 yards rushing and two touchdowns) demands the question of why Freeze didn’t turn the offense over to him weeks ago.—
Joe Rexrode,
New York Times,
9 Nov. 2025
-
No excuses, but there were two reasons for wearing it.—
Becca Longmire,
PEOPLE,
7 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
The man from the city provided goats, yam, fish, palm oil, orogbo, sugar and honey.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
4 Nov. 2025
-
Horses graze in the upper pastures, while the lower fields have housed sheep, goats, and cattle.—
Abby Montanez,
Robb Report,
3 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Scapegoat.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scapegoat. Accessed 22 Nov. 2025.
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