as in to blame
to subject (someone) to harsh public criticism
The press pilloried the judge for her decision.
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of pillory
Irate skiers and snowboarders at Park City soon pilloried Vail, taking to social media and national news organizations to denounce lengthy lift lines and contrast the high salaries of Vail leadership and expensive ticket prices with the relatively low pay of resort workers.
—
David Goodman, New York Times, 9 Jan. 2025
Over the past eight years none of the studio's six spinoff movies in the series has been rated fresh by review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes and several of them have even been pilloried by their own stars.
—Caroline Reid, Forbes, 3 Jan. 2025
The big picture: That's the playbook that Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell and the Fed used when President-elect Trump was last president and regularly pilloried the central bank for pushing interest rates too high.
—Neil Irwin, Axios, 5 Dec. 2024
Now, 31 years later, the pendulum has shifted back the other way, where artists are pilloried for making work that doesn’t broadcast their identities loud enough.
—Alex Greenberger, ARTnews.com, 19 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for pillory 
David Goodman, New York Times, 9 Jan. 2025
Over the past eight years none of the studio's six spinoff movies in the series has been rated fresh by review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes and several of them have even been pilloried by their own stars.
—Caroline Reid, Forbes, 3 Jan. 2025
The big picture: That's the playbook that Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell and the Fed used when President-elect Trump was last president and regularly pilloried the central bank for pushing interest rates too high.
—Neil Irwin, Axios, 5 Dec. 2024
Now, 31 years later, the pendulum has shifted back the other way, where artists are pilloried for making work that doesn’t broadcast their identities loud enough.
—Alex Greenberger, ARTnews.com, 19 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for pillory
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pillory
Verb
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That, after all, would open up these politicians to scrutiny and blame if the wars didn’t go well.—
Daniel DePetris,
Chicago Tribune,
11 Feb. 2025
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After the 2023 Supreme Court ruling, which deemed affirmative action in university admissions unconstitutional, attacks on DEI proliferated, and the term became a right-wing bogeyman blamed for almost anything that goes wrong in any workplace.—
Kizzy Cox,
Essence,
11 Feb. 2025
Verb
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The agreement is already being heavily criticized by New York City Council leaders, after prosecutors resigned in protest against a directive from Trump's Department of Justice to dismiss corruption charges against Adams so the mayor could assist with the Republican president's immigration agenda.—
DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE STAFF FROM WIRE REPORTS,
arkansasonline.com,
15 Feb. 2025
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Before Republicans start criticizing Democrats about their dependence on federal dollars, a quick review of the facts may be warranted.—
Jeffrey Sonnenfeld and Stephen Henriques,
TIME,
14 Feb. 2025
Verb
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At one point, an appalled Robinson came outside to scold her daughter.—
Rachel DeSantis,
People.com,
13 Feb. 2025
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On the other side of the FaceTime call is none other than Set It Off star Vivica Fox, who scolds Glo for sleeping in.—
Michael Saponara,
Billboard,
4 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Union leaders representing federal workers have condemned the Trump administration's order for agencies to lay off almost all probationary employees.—
Josh Hammer,
Newsweek,
14 Feb. 2025
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Everton and Liverpool have jointly condemned racist abuse of Abdoulaye Doucoure that was posted on social media after their stormy tangle.—
Phil Hay,
The Athletic,
14 Feb. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Pillory.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pillory. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.
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