show trial

noun

1. (especially in a totalitarian state) the public trial of a political offender conducted chiefly for propagandistic purposes, as to suppress further dissent against the government by making an example of the accused.

show trial

noun

1. a trial conducted primarily to make a particular impression on the public or on other nations, esp one that demonstrates the power of the state over the individual

Word History and Origins

Origin of show trial¹

First recorded in 1945–50

Example Sentences

There were show trials in Stalin’s Russia and other authoritarian regimes.

From Salon

Musk, whose band of roving nerd-assassins is conducting something like a large-scale Stalinist show trial of the entire federal bureaucracy, called Navarro a “moron” who was “dumber than a sack of bricks.”

From Salon

Vardanyan has been dealt with separately, but many in Armenia see all the cases as show trials.

From BBC

As with leaders of autocratic regimes, nothing is too small or insignificant to serve as pretext for a grand show trial meant to demonstrate strong-man dominance over the military.

From Salon

“I grew up in Miami listening to the stories about the Castro show trials in Cuba,” Florida’s politically pliant Republican senator, Marco Rubio, wailed in Trump’s defense.

From Los Angeles Times