as in sitting duck
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Recent Examples of lightning rod
The company has become a lightning rod for criticism from both the right and left.
—
Phil Singer, Forbes, 7 Mar. 2025
The guest list has become a lightning rod for messaging, particularly for Democrats who have struggled to regain their footing after blistering losses in November.
—Brady Knox, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 3 Mar. 2025
The attacks on the dealership are among the latest in a growing trend of ire directed at Tesla vehicles and company CEO Elon Musk, a lightning rod for his alliance with President Donald Trump.
—Trevor Hughes, USA TODAY, 26 Feb. 2025
Eric Trump, the son most heavily involved in running the Trump Organization, has expressed frustration that the company had become a lightning rod for conflicts of interest critics during his father’s first presidential term despite the company’s voluntary ethics ban on certain deals.
—Bernard Condon, Chicago Tribune, 10 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for lightning rod
Phil Singer, Forbes, 7 Mar. 2025
The guest list has become a lightning rod for messaging, particularly for Democrats who have struggled to regain their footing after blistering losses in November.
—Brady Knox, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 3 Mar. 2025
The attacks on the dealership are among the latest in a growing trend of ire directed at Tesla vehicles and company CEO Elon Musk, a lightning rod for his alliance with President Donald Trump.
—Trevor Hughes, USA TODAY, 26 Feb. 2025
Eric Trump, the son most heavily involved in running the Trump Organization, has expressed frustration that the company had become a lightning rod for conflicts of interest critics during his father’s first presidential term despite the company’s voluntary ethics ban on certain deals.
—Bernard Condon, Chicago Tribune, 10 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for lightning rod
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lightning rod
Noun
-
Maybe instead of rats the cartoon should show sitting ducks.—
Reader Commentary,
Baltimore Sun,
13 Feb. 2025
-
To the Mach 4 missiles, capable of taking out jets maneuvering at high speed , a Shahed is a sitting duck.—
David Hambling,
Forbes,
28 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
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
-
The Republicans and their puppet master, Donald Trump, are ginning up the machine against immigration and making Mayorkas their whipping boy for chaos at the border.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
18 Apr. 2024
Noun
-
That’s why even just the Trump administration’s first strike against its targets—a mass curtailment of science-research funding—could end up being felt by students right away.—
Ian Bogost,
The Atlantic,
30 Mar. 2025
-
Judge James Boasberg, now a frequent target of Trump, has since ordered five of Trump’s Cabinet members to preserve all Signal messages sent from March 11 to March 15.—
Zach LaChance,
The Washington Examiner,
30 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
Once identified, the kit dynamically loads a counterfeit login page tailored to that provider, often with the victim’s email address already filled in.—
Alex Vakulov,
Forbes.com,
28 Mar. 2025
-
Preliminary investigation indicates there was an incident between people in the parking lot just before the victim was shot.—
Noelle Alviz-Gransee,
Kansas City Star,
27 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
Burlington police announced at the 2023 press conference that DNA evidence pulled from the cigarette butt found near Curran’s body matched William DeRoos.—
Sean Neumann,
People.com,
23 Mar. 2025
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There’s also a touching subplot for the clumsy, muted Dopey (Andrew Barth Feldman), who’s regularly the butt of the other dwarfs’ jokes.—
Patrick Ryan,
USA TODAY,
21 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
Lures are used to catch fish in lakes, rivers and streams by mimicking natural prey.—
Mark Davis,
Newsweek,
14 Mar. 2025
-
Its teeth are small and underdeveloped compared to other hyenas, an adaptation to its soft-bodied prey rather than chewy meals.—
Scott Travers,
Forbes,
12 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Lightning rod.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lightning%20rod. Accessed 3 Apr. 2025.
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