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
Michael R. Sisak, Jennifer Peltz, TIME, 10 Jan. 2025
Caustic put-downs of Milton Berle, Jim Henson, and Johnny Carson anticipate the partisan snark by which SNL would pillory Millennial conservatives as non-hip — the antiquated value that has bankrupt stand-up comedy today.
—Armond White, National Review, 1 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for pillory 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
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
The Republican former president, appearing on a video feed from his Florida club 10 days before he is inaugurated, again pilloried the case, the only one of his four criminal indictments that has gone to trial and possibly the only one that ever will.
—Michael R. Sisak, Jennifer Peltz, TIME, 10 Jan. 2025
Caustic put-downs of Milton Berle, Jim Henson, and Johnny Carson anticipate the partisan snark by which SNL would pillory Millennial conservatives as non-hip — the antiquated value that has bankrupt stand-up comedy today.
—Armond White, National Review, 1 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for pillory
Articles Related to pillory
Dictionary Entries Near pillory
Cite this Entry
“Pillory.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pillory. Accessed 8 Feb. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share