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View synonyms for

scapegoat

[ skeyp-goht ]

noun

  1. a person or group made to bear the blame for others or to suffer in their place.
  2. Chiefly Biblical. a goat let loose in the wilderness on Yom Kippur after the high priest symbolically laid the sins of the people on its head. Leviticus 16:8,10,26.


verb (used with object)

  1. to make a scapegoat of:

    Strike leaders tried to scapegoat foreign competitors.

scapegoat

/ ˈɪˌɡəʊ /

noun

  1. a person made to bear the blame for others
  2. Old Testament a goat used in the ritual of Yom Kippur (Leviticus 16); it was symbolically laden with the sins of the Israelites and sent into the wilderness to be destroyed
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. tr to make a scapegoat of
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

scapegoat

  1. A person or group that is made to bear blame for others. According to the Old Testament , on the Day of Atonement , a priest would confess all the sins of the Israelites over the head of a goat and then drive it into the wilderness, symbolically bearing their sins away.
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Word History and Origins

Origin of scapegoat1

First recorded in 1520–30; scape 2 + goat
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Word History and Origins

Origin of scapegoat1

C16: from escape + goat , coined by William Tyndale to translate Biblical Hebrew ŧ (probably) goat for Azazel, mistakenly thought to mean ``goat that escapes''
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Trump is hardly the first politician to cast the bank as a scapegoat at a moment of economic turmoil - or to press for lower interest rates.

From

The men, as though seeking a scapegoat for the chaos, turned collectively on Ellen.

From

Not today said Harry Maguire, the ultimate scapegoat figure of United's steady decline who continues to step up in big moments.

From

It accused the party of "scapegoating refugees, asylum seekers, Muslims, Jews and others who do not fit their beliefs".

From

Diego Fagúndez, who captained the Galaxy against Houston and scored the team’s only goal Saturday in his 400th MLS appearance, agrees the team needs to stop looking for scapegoats and start looking for solutions.

From

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