Illustration of pillory
- pillory 1
plural pillories
1
: a device formerly used for publicly punishing offenders consisting of a wooden frame with holes in which the head and hands can be locked
2
: a means for exposing one to public scorn or ridicule
pilloried; pillorying
1
: to set in a pillory as punishment
2
: to expose to public contempt, ridicule, or scorn
Did you know?
In days gone by, criminals who got caught might well have found themselves in the stocks (which held the feet or both feet and hands) or a pillory. Both of those forms of punishment—and the words that name them—have been around since the Middle Ages. We latched onto pillory from the Anglo-French pilori, which has the same meaning as our English term but the exact origins of which are uncertain. For centuries, pillory referred only to the wooden frame used to hold a ne'er-do-well, but by the early 1600s, folks had turned the word into a verb for the act of putting someone in a pillory. Within a century, they had further expanded the verb to cover any process that led to as much public humiliation as being pilloried.
Examples of pillory in a Sentence
Verb
The press pilloried the judge for her decision.
Recent Examples on the Web
Peter Rubin, WIRED, 17 July 2019
Master Kent does not know how to use the pillory key and hesitates, nervously.
—Sophie Monks Kaufman, IndieWire, 3 Sep. 2024
Grant Stringer, The Mercury News, 9 Nov. 2024
The meltdown was so bad that Southwest was pilloried by Saturday Night Live.
—Lila MacLellan, Fortune, 26 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for pillory 
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Noun
Game of Thrones is back for a victory lap (that might end up being more of a Shame Nun–style pillory).
—Peter Rubin, WIRED, 17 July 2019
Master Kent does not know how to use the pillory key and hesitates, nervously.
—Sophie Monks Kaufman, IndieWire, 3 Sep. 2024
Verb
State Republicans have pilloried the board and Gov. Gavin Newsom, whose appointees dominate the board, for driving up gas prices, a hot-button issue throughout the state, which currently has the country’s second-highest price per gallon, behind only Hawaii, according to AAA.
—Grant Stringer, The Mercury News, 9 Nov. 2024
The meltdown was so bad that Southwest was pilloried by Saturday Night Live.
—Lila MacLellan, Fortune, 26 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for pillory
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Cite this Entry
“Pillory.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pillory. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.
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