pillory

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

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
verb expose to ridicule or public scorn
verb punish by putting in a pillory

From Middle English pilory, pillorie, from Old French pilori, pellori, which is either from Old Occitan espilori or Latin pīla (“pillar”).

A pillory is a terrific reality. — De Profundis, Oscar Wilde
What is your pillory at Reims? — Notre-Dame de Paris, Victor Hugo
Here, too, she was in a pillory. — On the Cross: A Romance of the Passion Play at Oberammergau, Wilhelmine von Hillern

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