public ridicule
Open scorn displayed
Public ridicule is mockery or derision directed at someone in a way that exposes them to widespread scorn.
It differs from private criticism in its performative nature—the humiliation happens before an audience: He was subjected to public ridicule after the video went viral.
The phrase often appears in legal and professional contexts describing reputational harm.
- mockeryScornful ridicule or travesty
- humiliationLoss of dignity
- scornHostile dismissive feeling
- shamePainful awareness of failure
- derisionContemptuous mockery
laughing stock · laughingstock · jeering · taunting · sneering · embarrassment · egg on face · disgrace · walk of shame · pillory · spectacle · viral · viral moment · cancel · cancel culture · trolling · social media pile-on · online mob
- Shakespeare comedymistaken identity, comic relief, dramatic irony, Falstaff, Malvolio
- condemnationcondemnation, censure, rebuke, denunciation, reproach
public ridiculepublic praise
Commendation given openly
public celebration · public recognition · standing ovation · hero's welcome · accolades
public, publicly, publics, publication, publicize, publicized, publicizing, publicity, publish