as in to blame
to subject (someone) to harsh public criticism
The press pilloried the judge for her decision.
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Recent Examples of pillory
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.
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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
Trump, who pilloried several parts of Harris’ record, was referring to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the agency in charge of detaining and deporting immigrants who are illegally in the United States.
—Amy Sherman, Austin American-Statesman, 31 July 2024
Speakers also pilloried Zhao for failing to adequately support the People’s Liberation Army, even though military affairs had been under Deng’s control.
—Andrew J. Nathan, Foreign Affairs, 30 May 2019
See all Example Sentences for pillory 
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
Trump, who pilloried several parts of Harris’ record, was referring to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the agency in charge of detaining and deporting immigrants who are illegally in the United States.
—Amy Sherman, Austin American-Statesman, 31 July 2024
Speakers also pilloried Zhao for failing to adequately support the People’s Liberation Army, even though military affairs had been under Deng’s control.
—Andrew J. Nathan, Foreign Affairs, 30 May 2019
See all Example Sentences for pillory
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pillory
Verb
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Finally, blaming the pharmaceutical industry for high drug costs has historically been PBMs’ go-to defense.—
Joshua P. Cohen,
Forbes,
19 Jan. 2025
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While most economists agree that Biden was not to blame for inflation, the yearslong bout of sharp-rising prices hit Americans hard and, ultimately, cast a thick cloud over Biden’s presidency that carried through to the November election.—
Alicia Wallace,
CNN,
19 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Trump has been harshly criticized for pardoning Jan. 6 defendants who assaulted police officers but said Tuesday that planned pardons of D.C. police Terence Sutton and Andrew Zabavsky indicate his true stance in support of law enforcement.—
Haisten Willis,
Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government,
22 Jan. 2025
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The Sun article in question reported that Sheeran had attended a party on New Year's Eve hosted by the Harry Potter author, who has been publicly criticized for making anti-trans comments.—
Marina Watts,
People.com,
22 Jan. 2025
Verb
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The Anti-Defamation League is scolding Elon Musk after coming to the billionaire titan’s defense earlier in the week.—
James Hibberd,
The Hollywood Reporter,
23 Jan. 2025
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Those opinions are usually punctuated by scolding those who do not immediately comply.—
Judith Martin,
Sun Sentinel,
23 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Getty Images News | Getty Images Climate scientists condemned Trump’s order to remove the U.S. from the Paris Agreement, noting the pledge comes just weeks after U.S. and global scientific agencies confirmed the planet experienced its hottest year on record in 2024.—
Sam Meredith,
CNBC,
21 Jan. 2025
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Biden condemned attempts by Trump and his allies to rewrite the history of Jan. 6 and intimidate those who participated in the investigation.—
Justin Gest,
Newsweek,
20 Jan. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Pillory.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pillory. Accessed 29 Jan. 2025.
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