Thesaurus results for WHIPPING BOY

whipping boy

noun

Definition of whipping boy

as in victim

a person or thing taking the blame for others used the government's economic policies as the whipping boy for every bad decision the company made

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 whipping boy There will always be whipping boys at the World Cup, a team who arrive underprepared or in chaos of some description. — Nick Miller, New York Times, 13 Nov. 2025 Gordie is invisible to his mother and a whipping boy to his father. — Sezin Devi Koehler September 1, EW.com, 1 Sep. 2025 Yet Hojlund only has to look at Scott McTominay and how Conte revitalised his career in Naples after years of being a United whipping boy by some sections of the fan base. — Emmet Gates, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2025 Once more, Turkey seems to have become a whipping boy for all manner of interests, some of which have little to do with the realities of Turkey itself. — Hugh Pope, Foreign Affairs, 21 Oct. 2010 See All Example Sentences for whipping boy

Recent Examples of Synonyms for whipping boy

Noun

Brown’s wife was Bruneau’s best friend at the time of the victim’s death, and both women worked as flight attendants for Braniff Airlines, a Grapevine police detective wrote in an arrest warrant affidavit filed in June.

— Amy McDaniel, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 16 July 2026
Numerous victims have said that their names and other sensitive information were not properly redacted in the files and criticized Blanche and the department for failing to investigate Epstein’s potential co-conspirators.

— Ben Wieder, Los Angeles Times, 15 July 2026

Definition of victim

Noun

As noted by Variety, some scholars believe the island inspired the location where Homer imagined Odysseus and his crew stopping to roast goats and replenish their supplies.

— Brianna Zigler, Entertainment Weekly, 17 July 2026
And the whole family can enjoy the new Bleat & Greet experience with the ranch’s baby goats, which includes cuddle and play time with the baby animals plus info about how the goats are cared for each day.

— Beth Luberecki, USA Today, 14 July 2026

Definition of goat

Noun

All the exquisite details—the man’s glowing salmon-pink tunic, the cherrylike tip of his headdress, the fluffy tassels—are an excuse for pure visual stimulation.

— Zachary Fine, New Yorker, 13 July 2026
With a roster full of players from major European teams and 13 who were World Cup veterans, a lack of quality and experience no longer were valid excuses.

— Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 13 July 2026

Definition of excuse

Noun

Prominent intellectuals, famously including novelist Emile Zola, argued that Dreyfus had been made a scapegoat by the French military.

— Masha Macpherson, Los Angeles Times, 12 July 2026
Just like the Mets, the case could be made that Boston’s president of baseball operations, Craig Breslow, deserved the blame, but the skipper became the scapegoat instead.

— Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 26 June 2026

Definition of scapegoat

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“Whipping boy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/whipping%20boy. Accessed 18 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of whipping boy

noun

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