as in victim
a person or thing taking the blame for others companies often use the economy as a scapegoat to avoid taking responsibility for dropping sales

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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 scapegoat The newcomers make convenient scapegoats for Egyptians’ hardships, rights groups say. Vivian Yee, New York Times, 9 Jan. 2025 Daniel Jones is being used as this year’s scapegoat. Pat Leonard, New York Daily News, 9 Jan. 2025 The other side: Responding to the analysis, a RealPage spokesperson told Axios that the company is being made a scapegoat for broader housing policy failures. Kyle Stokes, Axios, 7 Jan. 2025 Schools have become scapegoats for both good and bad reasons. Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, TIME, 28 Dec. 2024 See all Example Sentences for scapegoat 
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scapegoat
Noun
  • One of my personal concerns is the tendency, particularly in Germany, to focus too much in films on the perpetrators, not the victims, like in Downfall or the recent Wannsee Conference adaptation.
    Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Jan. 2025
  • Several other fire victims are likely in the same situation.
    Liam Dillon, Los Angeles Times, 27 Jan. 2025
Noun
  • Most operators are not using it as an excuse to make more money.
    Doug Gollan, Forbes, 18 Jan. 2025
  • But the Heat didn’t want to use travel as an excuse for what happened against the Nuggets.
    Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 18 Jan. 2025
Noun
  • Kudos on firing the assistant coaches as scape goats for the humiliating mistake of letting Xavier Mckinney walk away into an All-Pro season and forcing them to scheme around an unreliable Banks.
    Dan Duggan, The Athletic, 23 Jan. 2025
  • Things only get stranger from there, involving everything from an office goat pen to a terrifyingly ominous dance party.
    Andrew Webster, The Verge, 18 Jan. 2025

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Thesaurus Entries Near scapegoat

Cite this Entry

“Scapegoat.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scapegoat. Accessed 1 Feb. 2025.

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