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Scapegoat is an English word with synonyms like victim. Below you'll find 10+ example sentences showing how it's used in practice.

Less frequent word

Scapegoat in a sentence

Related words

Scapegoat | Scapegoats | Scapegoating | Scapegoated

Scapegoat meaning

  1. In the Mosaic Day of Atonement ritual, a goat symbolically imbued with the sins of the people, and sent out alive into the wilderness while another was sacrificed.
  2. Someone unfairly blamed or punished for some failure.

Synonyms of Scapegoat

whipping boy victim

Related words

Other words often associated with Scapegoat or its synonyms:

unfortunate soul someone dupe mortal individual somebody person

Using Scapegoat

  • The main meaning on this page is: In the Mosaic Day of Atonement ritual, a goat symbolically imbued with the sins of the people, and sent out alive into the wilderness while another was sacrificed. | Someone unfairly blamed or punished for some failure.
  • Useful related words include: whipping boy, victim.
  • In the example corpus, scapegoat often appears in combinations such as: scapegoat for, as scapegoat, the scapegoat.

Context around Scapegoat

  • Average sentence length in these examples: 26.2 words
  • Position in the sentence: 2 start, 11 middle, 7 end
  • Sentence types: 19 statements, 0 questions, 1 exclamations

Often before:

day 1× primary 1× enough 1× convenient 1× favourite 1× perfect 1× popular 1×

Often after:

companies 1×

Sentence patterns with Scapegoat

These short patterns come directly from the example sentences and show how the word is often embedded:

as a scapegoat 2× a convenient scapegoat 1× after day scapegoat after scapegoat 1× another popular scapegoat for price 1× as a scapegoat after calling 1× as a scapegoat to bring 1× be the scapegoat for poor 1× be the scapegoat for problems 1×

Sentence openings and endings

Common sentence openings:

asked further who 1× day after day 1× despite the numbers 1× for both carlson 1× i believe there 1× instead of negotiating 1×

Common sentence endings:

as a scapegoat 2× a convenient scapegoat 1× behind labor unrest 1× companies for payment 1× deliver housing supply 1× dubious at best 1×

Words around Scapegoat

Just before it in the word index:

scape 29 scaparrotti 3 scapa 14 scap 4 scanwatch 6 scanty 38

Just after it in the word index:

scapegoated 14 scapegoating 27 scapegoats 34 scapes 10 scapin 3 scapino 3

Similar in corpus frequency:

adversarial 120 archibald 120 ashraf 120 astoria 120 baden 120 bagging 120

Corpus analysis for Scapegoat

  • In this selection, "scapegoat" usually appears in the middle of the sentence. The average example has 26.2 words, and this corpus slice is mostly made up of statements.
  • Around the word, day, primary, enough and companies stand out and add context to how "scapegoat" is used.
  • Recognizable usage signals include as a scapegoat and a convenient scapegoat. That gives this page its own corpus information beyond isolated example sentences.
  • By corpus frequency, "scapegoat" sits close to words such as adversarial, archibald and ashraf, which helps place it inside the broader word index.

Example types with scapegoat

The same corpus examples are grouped by length and sentence type, making it easier to see the contexts in which the word appears:

Short example sentences

Day after day, scapegoat after scapegoat. (6 words)

Looking up the definition of scapegoat right now. (8 words)

Re: the letter ‘Dog owners shouldn’t be the scapegoat for problems in parks’ in the Jan. (17 words)

Longer example sentences

As one of the justices, Inyang Okoro, leading a seven-member panel of justices, said, “We want to make it very clear that we are going to hear this matter today because we don’t want a situation where the judiciary will be made a scapegoat. (46 words)

Despite the numbers being high already, the Business Council of Australia, which supports a continuous intake of cheap labour, has argued immigration 'should not be the scapegoat for poor planning and the failure to deliver housing supply'. (37 words)

The litigation will create a legal, constitutional, scientific and public policy nightmare for the nation, businesses, consumers, courts and states, especially after verdicts have been rendered and bills tendered to scapegoat companies for payment. (34 words)

Exclamation examples

I believe there are other reasons for this matter that I won't go into, I've been a scapegoat for a long time which isn't fair! (28 words)

Example sentences (20)

Day after day, scapegoat after scapegoat.

Asked further who would be ganging up against him and why, the Governor said: “They decided to be enemies of democracy and the only scapegoat they could find is in Adamawa State.

As one of the justices, Inyang Okoro, leading a seven-member panel of justices, said, “We want to make it very clear that we are going to hear this matter today because we don’t want a situation where the judiciary will be made a scapegoat.

Despite the numbers being high already, the Business Council of Australia, which supports a continuous intake of cheap labour, has argued immigration 'should not be the scapegoat for poor planning and the failure to deliver housing supply'.

For both Carlson and the far right, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is used as their primary scapegoat, and their evidence, as with most scapegoating narratives, is dubious at best.

I believe there are other reasons for this matter that I won't go into, I've been a scapegoat for a long time which isn't fair!

If that is not an easy enough scapegoat for Ja Morant, he — and we — could maybe blame it on hip-hop culture and the prevalence of firearms for street credibility.

Instead of negotiating with business, convincing the economists, and being decisive with the education ministry in moving exams; Ramaphosa just let the matric final exams become a convenient scapegoat.

Advertentie

Jason Bedrick, a research fellow in the Center for Education Policy at The Heritage Foundation, addresses critics who hold up “rural schools” as a scapegoat.

Looking up the definition of scapegoat right now.

One of the club's major talking points is the treatment of Sancho after he referred to himself as a "scapegoat" after calling out his manager on social media.

Perhaps this government’s tendency to so loosely complain of its favourite scapegoat, the federal government, for not being open is disregarded when the shoe is on the other foot.

Q: The book has a chapter about the tragedy at Columbine, and how the media used and violent games as a scapegoat.

Re: the letter ‘Dog owners shouldn’t be the scapegoat for problems in parks’ in the Jan.

Sancho claimed on social media that he had been made a “scapegoat” after being cut from United’s squad for its 3-1 loss to Arsenal earlier this month.

She viewed the rationale for his ousting as a scapegoat to bring in someone with a new vision for the company.

The cause of the fire still remains a mystery, with many agreeing now that a poor Irish emigrant was the perfect scapegoat.

The kicker has seemingly always been our fanbase’s go-to scapegoat for years, just ask Daniel Carlson, Blair Walsh, or Kai Forbath.

The litigation will create a legal, constitutional, scientific and public policy nightmare for the nation, businesses, consumers, courts and states, especially after verdicts have been rendered and bills tendered to scapegoat companies for payment.

This has made unions another popular scapegoat for price inflation when the truth is that Fed-caused price increases are the real reasons behind labor unrest.

Advertentie

Common combinations with scapegoat

These word pairs occur most frequently in English texts:

Frequently asked questions

How do you use "scapegoat" in a sentence?
An example: "Day after day, scapegoat after scapegoat." This page contains 10+ example sentences with the word "scapegoat" from authentic English texts.
What does "scapegoat" mean?
Scapegoat means: In the Mosaic Day of Atonement ritual, a goat symbolically imbued with the sins of the people, and sent out alive into the wilderness while another was sacrificed.
What are synonyms of "scapegoat"?
Common synonyms of "scapegoat" include: whipping boy, victim.
How many example sentences with "scapegoat" are there?
Voorbeeldzinnen.info contains at least 10+ example sentences with "scapegoat", drawn from a database of millions of English sentences.