scapegoats

Definition of scapegoatsnext
plural of scapegoat
as in victims
a person or thing taking the blame for others companies often use the economy as a scapegoat to avoid taking responsibility for dropping sales

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of scapegoats Sending out the scapegoats in a van advertising unemployed coaches is next-level stuff. Zach Dean Outkick, FOXNews.com, 27 Apr. 2026 Black folks have been used as scapegoats for the rising government budgets, and anti-Black stereotypes fueled voters to significantly reduce access to affordable healthcare and educational assistance. Literary Hub, 30 Mar. 2026 Americans are burned-out, frustrated, and hunting for scapegoats. Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 27 Mar. 2026 Fourth, anger and the search for scapegoats. David Blumenthal, STAT, 24 Mar. 2026 In such a situation, scapegoats are needed, and the alien is the ideal one. Christine Smallwood, Harpers Magazine, 24 Mar. 2026 And while the White House cycled through various scapegoats, prices rose a total of 20 percent, costing families more than $10,000. Jessica Riedl, Washington Post, 13 Jan. 2026 Nations without trust in domestic institutions often turn outward in search of scapegoats. Klaus Schwab, Time, 5 Jan. 2026 This time, Nixon was one of several scapegoats for a dismal 22-16 Packers loss. Matt Schneidman, New York Times, 21 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scapegoats
Noun
  • Nataliia had gone to the bus station, where soldiers were spraying foam to contain the nuclear fallout, and to the hospital, where men in white coats were unloading victims on stretchers from the backs of ambulances.
    Lizzie Johnson, New Yorker, 25 Apr. 2026
  • Turkey denies the deaths constituted genocide, saying the toll has been inflated and that those killed were victims of civil war and unrest.
    City News Service, Daily News, 25 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • Venus and Saturn make this full moon the right time to finally take a look at your figures without excuses.
    Glamour, Glamour, 25 Apr. 2026
  • Yet both Piker and Tolentino move from discussing nonlethal crimes of nuisance and destruction to making excuses for murder.
    Thomas Chatterton Williams, The Atlantic, 23 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • Agriculture science teacher Katie McMahon oversees 59 students plus alpacas, cows, ducks, goats, chickens and horses.
    Jeff Vorva, Chicago Tribune, 24 Apr. 2026
  • Around 600 goats are grazing the Arroyo Seco, helping to reduce fire-prone vegetation across 100 acres in Pasadena's natural parkland.
    Julie Sharp, CBS News, 24 Apr. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Scapegoats.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scapegoats. Accessed 29 Apr. 2026.

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