pillory Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun 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
  2. verb expose to ridicule or public scorn
    gibbet.
  3. verb punish by putting in a pillory
  4. verb criticize harshly or violently
    crucify; savage; blast.
    • The press savaged the new President
    • The critics crucified the author for plagiarizing a famous passage

WordNet

Pil"lo*ry noun
Etymology
F. pilori; cf. Pr. espitlori, LL. piloricum, pilloricum, pellericum, pellorium, pilorium, spilorium; perhaps from a derivative of L. speculari to look around, observe. Cf. Speculate.
Wordforms
plural Pillories
Definitions
  1. A frame of adjustable boards erected on a post, and having holes through which the head and hands of an offender were thrust so as to be exposed in front of it. Shak.
Pil"lo*ry transitive verb
Etymology
Cf. F. pilorier.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Pilloried ; present participle & verbal noun Pillorying
Definitions
  1. To set in, or punish with, the pillory. "Hungering for Puritans to pillory." Macaulay.
  2. Figuratively, to expose to public scorn. Gladstone.

Webster 1913