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 Our fresh polling data from approximately 100 college and university presidents in attendance at the Yale Higher Education Leadership Summit last week reveals that higher education leaders are no longer cowering as their schools are wrongly exploited as scapegoats for political grandstanding. Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, TIME, 4 Feb. 2025 But for the most part, this all works out pretty neatly: Noor gets to reunite with her mother, Abbas gets to save his daughter and blame his own slip-ups on some (deserving) scapegoats, and Javad will be sent back to Iran. Ben Rosenstock, Vulture, 27 Jan. 2025 In a tragic instant, Thompson became a scapegoat for the legitimate—but until now, amorphous—rage people have about America’s health-care system, in which a company’s profits can be someone else’s broken life. airmail.news, 25 Jan. 2025 Anti-immigrant sentiment is high in South Africa, where migrants are often used as scapegoats for other problems. Kate Bartlett, NPR, 18 Jan. 2025 See All Example Sentences for scapegoat
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scapegoat
Noun
  • The two boys have become the most recognizable victims of the October 7 terror attacks.
    Mick Krever, CNN, 20 Feb. 2025
  • The term has been applied to other groups as well: Teachers, health care workers, government officials and public safety professionals may encounter mandates that threaten to compromise their values, witness morally repugnant behavior or become a victim of somebody else’s transgression.
    Christina Caron, New York Times, 20 Feb. 2025
Noun
  • Ted Sarandos and the powerful in Hollywood might be tempted to use Emilia Pérez as a great excuse to back away from the trans community.
    Seven Graham, The Hollywood Reporter, 24 Feb. 2025
  • The officers used pandemic travel restrictions as an excuse for the delay.
    Joshua Yaffa, The New Yorker, 24 Feb. 2025
Noun
  • Sharing an exploding fist bump and a laugh with a young boy herding goats at a river island.
    Matt Dutile, Travel + Leisure, 7 Feb. 2025
  • By Belinda Luscombe February 7, 2025 1:51 PM EST James Akot has three goats.
    Belinda Luscombe, TIME, 7 Feb. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Scapegoat.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scapegoat. Accessed 3 Mar. 2025.

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