Jump to content

scapegoat

From Wiktionary

Pronunciation

[change]

Noun

[change]

Singular
scapegoat

Plural
scapegoats

  1. (countable), (biblical) A scapegoat is a goat that was released into the wilderness while another was killed in a ritual.
  2. (countable) A scapegoat is someone who is punished for a mistake that someone else made.
    Bobby broke the window, but Cynthia was made into the scapegoat and had to pay Mr. Lee for it.
[change]

Verb

[change]

Plain form
scapegoat

Third-person singular
scapegoats

Past tense
scapegoated

Past participle
scapegoated

Present participle
scapegoating

  1. (transitive) If you scapegoat someone, you punish them for someone else's mistake.

Usage note

[change]

A word derived from scapegoat, scapegoatee, means the same thing as the agent noun scapegoat, although the form with the suffix "-ee", i.e. scapegoatee, is exclusively used in the sense of the agent noun of being a victim of blame-shifting.