whipping boys

plural of whipping boy
as in victims
a person or thing taking the blame for others used the government's economic policies as the whipping boy for every bad decision the company made

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for whipping boys
Noun
  • The amount of time that passed has only compounded the challenges of finding — let alone identifying — the victims.
    Bilal Shbeir, Los Angeles Times, 9 July 2026
  • Crump is a civil rights attorney best known for representing the families of Black people who are victims of gun violence and police brutality.
    Conor Murray, Forbes.com, 8 July 2026
Noun
  • The two species also hunted the same types of animals, such as wild goats, deer and boars.
    Katie Hunt, CNN Money, 7 July 2026
  • The detections, so far totaling 32 animals including sheep and goats as of Sunday, have largely clustered in southern Texas.
    Bloomberg, Mercury News, 7 July 2026
Noun
  • Court papers say Doyle used a different first name while dealing with Matthiesen and continued to invent excuses after the painting had been sold, even falsely claiming the buyer had failed to pay him despite already receiving the money.
    Daniel Cassady, ARTnews.com, 29 June 2026
  • Then turn in the most benign of public records requests — access to a calendar, for example — and prepare for weeks of delays and excuses.
    Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 25 June 2026
Noun
  • Sending out the scapegoats in a van advertising unemployed coaches is next-level stuff.
    Zach Dean OutKick, FOXNews.com, 27 Apr. 2026
  • Black folks have been used as scapegoats for the rising government budgets, and anti-Black stereotypes fueled voters to significantly reduce access to affordable healthcare and educational assistance.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 30 Mar. 2026
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.

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Whipping boys.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/whipping%20boys. Accessed 10 Jul. 2026.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster