Link Centre Dictionary

pillory

pil·lory

UK/ˈpɪləɹi/ US/ˈpɪlɜri/ uncommon
verb (3) noun (1)

verb

1.
2.
3.

criticize harshly or violently

  • “The press savaged the new President”
  • “The critics crucified the author for plagiarizing a famous passage”
Synonyms

noun

1.

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

Synonyms

Origin

From Middle English pilory, pillorie, from Old French pilori, pellori, which is either from Old Occitan espilori or Latin pīla (“pillar”).

Related words

Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.