pillory

American  

[pil-uh-ree] / ˈpɪl ə ri /

noun

pillories plural

1. a wooden framework erected on a post, with holes for securing the head and hands, formerly used to expose an offender to public derision.

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verb (used with object)

pillories, present (3rd person singular) pilloried, past participle, past pillorying present participle

1. to set in the pillory.

2. to expose to public derision, ridicule, or abuse.

   The candidate mercilessly pilloried his opponent.

pillory British  

/ ˈpɪlərɪ /

noun

1. a wooden framework into which offenders were formerly locked by the neck and wrists and exposed to public abuse and ridicule

2. exposure to public scorn or abuse

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verb

1. to expose to public scorn or ridicule

2. to punish by putting in a pillory

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• unpilloried
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• pillories
  plural

Participles

• pillorying
  present
• pilloried
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• pillory
  simple
• pillories
  simple
• have pilloried
  perfect
• has pilloried
  perfect
• am pillorying
  progressive
• are pillorying
  progressive
• is pillorying
  progressive
• have been pillorying
  perfect progressive
• has been pillorying
  perfect progressive

Past

• pilloried
  simple
• had pilloried
  perfect
• was pillorying
  progressive
• were pillorying
  progressive
• had been pillorying
  perfect progressive

Future

• will pillory
  simple
• will have pilloried
  perfect
• will be pillorying
  progressive
• will have been pillorying
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of pillory

First recorded in 1225–75; Middle English pyllory, from Old French pilori, perhaps from Medieval Latin pīlōrium, equivalent to Latin pīl(a) “pillar” ( see pile ¹) + -ōrium noun suffix ( see -ory ²), though Romance variants such as Provençal espillori suggest a less transparent source

Explanation

A pillory is a wooden frame with cutouts for someone's head and hands. Long ago, people found guilty of a crime could be sentenced to be locked in a pillory for a certain amount of time for punishment but also for public humiliation. The verb pillory means to be punished by being locked in a pillory, but references to this form of punishment are historic and it is no longer used — you might see references today to someone in a pillory in a cartoon. As a modern verb, pillory means both to criticize harshly and to expose to public ridicule. Someone who is caught doing something immoral may be pilloried and people who believe they have been unfairly criticized say they have been pilloried, but often only after they've been exposed!

Example Sentences

One Area in Which Congress Excels: Naming Post Offices Pillory Congress all you want as do-nothing or dysfunctional, as its critics often have.

From New York Times • May 28, 2013

Near the church at one time was an open space called the Square, where were situated the Pillory and Whipping Post.

From Winchester by Haslehust, E. W.

"If only I get a chance of putting him on my weekly Pillory in Truth, I do not deny it would give me keen satisfaction."

From Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 104, January 28, 1893 by Burnand, F. C. (Francis Cowley), Sir

They are now placed with the remains of the Pillory at the entrance of the schoolroom, on the south-west side of the church.

From Bygone Punishments by Andrews, William

This was done by one Mr. Daniel Foe, a Newswriter, who, in my Youth, stood in the Pillory by Temple Bar, for a sedition in some plaguey Church-matters.

From The Strange Adventures of Captain Dangerous, Vol. 3 Who was a sailor, a soldier, a merchant, a spy, a slave among the moors... by Sala, George Augustus