Pillory
noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 A framework on a post, with holes for the hands and head, used as a means of punishment and humiliation.
"Maires and Maceris that meanes be betwene / The Kynge and the comon to kepe the lawes / To pũnyſhen on pyleries and pynning ſtoles / Bruſterrs and bakeſters, bochers and cokes / For theſe ar mẽ on this mold þᵉ moſt harme worketh / To the pore people that percel mele byghe[...]"
- 2 a wooden instrument of punishment on a post with holes for the wrists and neck; offenders were locked in and so exposed to public scorn wordnet
- 1 To put in a pillory. transitive
- 2 criticize harshly or violently wordnet
- 3 To subject to humiliation, scorn, ridicule or abuse. transitive
"Mike Sarne would end up making a celluloid disasterpiece that is to this day pilloried as one of the worst films ever made."
- 4 punish by putting in a pillory wordnet
- 5 To criticize harshly. transitive
"The breakthrough came through Torres who, pilloried for his miss against Manchester United a week earlier, scored his second goal of the season."
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- 6 expose to ridicule or public scorn wordnet
Antonyms
All antonymsExample
More examples"Maires and Maceris that meanes be betwene / The Kynge and the comon to kepe the lawes / To pũnyſhen on pyleries and pynning ſtoles / Bruſterrs and bakeſters, bochers and cokes / For theſe ar mẽ on this mold þᵉ moſt harme worketh / To the pore people that percel mele byghe[...]"
Etymology
From Middle English pilory, pillorie, from Old French pilori, pellori, which is either from Old Occitan espilori or Latin pīla (“pillar”).