scapegoat
65
6.3
- noun
- /ˈskeɪpɡoʊt/
:
chivo expiatorio
- I won't be made the scapegoat... ...for the desperate act of an emotionally disturbed woman.
- make a scapegoat
- become a scapegoat
- find a scapegoat
In a healthy family, there is no golden child, no scapegoat and kids can be kids.
- In a healthy family, there is no golden child, no scapegoat and kids can be kids.
- So Jews became the obvious, the obvious scapegoat.
- He must not only erase what he himself has just done, he must find a new scapegoat.
- I didn't just risk my life because if that had been a failure, I would have been the scapegoat.
- He sought out scapegoats, you know, Jews, Roma, disabled people, homosexuals and so on, right?
- And what if groups need a scapegoat because it makes them closer so the group can bond if they have an enemy?
- Being with this man is giving you a scapegoat to not face your issues because you get to focus on his nonsense and ignore yours.
- So they make an easy scapegoat because they.
- The stereotyped role of the scapegoat in their family.
- So we we can't make that acceptable scapegoat to him caring about your money.
- Well, it's not just a scapegoat, although it is.
Examples
-
Tell him Rome needs a scapegoat and you've decided he's the perfect fit.
-
During the meeting, she pointed out that it is unfair to treat innocent employees as scapegoats for the company's failures.
-
In a healthy family, there is no golden child, no scapegoat and kids can be kids.
-
"Of course, you would need to find another scapegoat once the war ended!"
Fiction book (1996) -
One possible "solution," of course, is to agree to find a common scapegoat, and that happens a lot.
Academic text (1994) -
Would you stop using my father as a scapegoat?
-
Someone had to be the scapegoat.
-
And we know we need a scapegoat, but let's be very clear as to who that scapegoat should be.
-
Legal immigrants should not be treated as scapegoats for the federal budget deficit in America.
Academic text (1996) -
He needed a scapegoat.
Synonyms
19
7.6
A person who others blame so they avoid punishment
9
8.1
A person who is blamed or punished for other people's mistakes
Antonyms
How Blamed
- Informal
55
7.5
- Informal
11
8.8
65
6.3
∞
1.6
251
4.6
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Scapegoat comes from a Bible ritual where a goat was sent into the wilderness carrying the people's 'sins' to take the blame away. That's why a scapegoat today is a person who is blamed or punished for the mistakes of others.