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scapegoat

[skeyp-goht] / ˈskeɪpˌgoʊt /


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

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We aren’t victims, and we shouldn’t scapegoat other minorities or indulge in conspiracy theories.

From The Wall Street Journal Sep. 10, 2026

“He’s our scapegoat: the hedge fund guy who bought the mom-and-pop shop.”

From The Wall Street Journal Aug. 24, 2026

The Indian captain of an alleged Russian shadow fleet oil vessel seized by British commandos has been made a "scapegoat", his wife told AFP, as her husband awaits trial.

From Barron's Aug. 21, 2026

He claimed he had been made a "scapegoat" after a "witch hunt" following the operation, carried out at the Royal Oldham Hospital, where he was working as a locum on 25 August 2020.

From BBC Aug. 4, 2026

He had the feeling that Brother Leon was that kind of character, that he would need a scapegoat and Brian would be closest at hand.

From "The Chocolate War" by Robert Cormier

He and the government find themselves caught between an increasingly incensed public and a justice system whose magistrates and prosecutors refuse to be made scapegoats.

From BBC Jun. 9, 2026

The irony, which Mr. Crow misses, is that Marat, with his lists of enemies and scapegoats and his lust for punishment, was the ancestor of the modern totalitarians.

From The Wall Street Journal Dec. 21, 2025

He and editor Andy Jurgensen keep the tenor strictly rat-a-tat, so his riskiest choice is that he trusts we’ll feel awful about these scapegoats even without close-ups of teary faces behind bars.

From Los Angeles Times Sep. 24, 2025

But Roach has insightfully made this about people, not societal scapegoats.

From Los Angeles Times Aug. 28, 2025

Among the many scapegoats chosen were elderly women living alone, who were charged with witchcraft: Kepler’s mother was carried away in the middle of the night in a laundry chest.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan




Vocabulary lists containing scapegoat


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