show trial

noun

: a trial (as of political opponents) in which the verdict is rigged and a public confession is often extracted

Examples of show trial in a Sentence

They were forced to confess their guilt in public show trials.

Recent Examples on the Web When they’re caught, the two men (Gary Maitland and Noor Dillan-Night) are put in a pillory without so much as a show trial. —

Leslie Felperin, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2024 Vladimir Kara-Murza One of Russia's most high-profile Kremlin critics, who has survived two poisonings, the dual British and Russian citizen was sentenced to 25 years in prison in April 2023 on charges of treason for criticizing the war in Ukraine in what was widely viewed as a show trial. —

Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 1 Aug. 2024 Now, President Biden says that all of these were show trials. —

Sara Ganim, USA TODAY, 2 Aug. 2024 Yet once the trials started, the roles reversed, with Western lawyers seeking to stage a high-minded fair trial and the Soviets, under tight leadership from Moscow, looking to stage a didactic show trial. —

Andrew Moravcsik, Foreign Affairs, 11 Aug. 2020 See all Example Sentences for show trial

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'show trial.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.