scapegoat
Blamed for others
A scapegoat is a person or group blamed for problems they didn't cause, deflecting responsibility from the actual source.
The word comes from an ancient Hebrew ritual where a goat was symbolically loaded with the community's sins and driven into the wilderness.
Modern use is almost always figurative: Immigrants became scapegoats for the economic downturn.
To scapegoat someone is to make them bear undeserved blame.
One blamed for others
- patsyEasily deceived victim
- targetObject of pursuit
- finger-pointingAssigning blame openly
- accuseClaim someone did wrong
fault · deflect · unjust · guilt · responsibility · denounce · incriminate · reproach
Victim for beliefs
- suffererOne who endures hardship
- preyAnimal being hunted
- underdogPresumed loser beforehand
- casualtyPerson harmed in disaster
outcast · pariah · dupe · stooge · pawn · bystander · ostracize · stigmatize
Compensation for wrongdoing
- expiationRedress for offense
- purificationRemoval of contaminants
- ceremonyFormal event marking occasions
- sacrificeGiving up something precious
offering · propitiation · cleansing · absolution · redemption · penance · rite · desert
Free of wrongdoing
- wrongedTreated with injustice
- faultlessFree from any defect
- guiltlessNot at fault
- unjustNot fair or right
exonerated · vindicated · absolved · cleared · unblemished · unimpeachable · irreproachable · defenseless
Turn from course
- distractDivert someone's attention
- smokescreenConcealment through misdirection
- decoyFalse target for misdirection
- misleadCause false belief
sidetrack · cover-up · evasion · misdirection · obfuscate · subterfuge · feint · ploy
Persecution of supposed subversives
- McCarthyismPolitically-motivated accusation without evidence
- InquisitionChurch tribunal against heretics
- HUACRed Scare congressional committee
- red-baitingTarring opponents as communists
paranoia · fearmongering · stigma · labeling · denouncing · hysteria · blacklist · purge
fall-guy
One blamed for others
- patsyEasily deceived victim
- targetObject of pursuit
- finger-pointingAssigning blame openly
accuse · fault · deflect · unjust · guilt · responsibility · denounce · incriminate · reproach · censure
martyr
Victim for beliefs
casualty · outcast · pariah · dupe · stooge · pawn · bystander · ostracize · stigmatize · persecute
atonement
Compensation for wrongdoing
- expiationRedress for offense
- purificationRemoval of contaminants
- ceremonyFormal event marking occasions
sacrifice · offering · propitiation · cleansing · absolution · redemption · penance · rite · desert · wilderness
blameless
Free of wrongdoing
unjust · exonerated · vindicated · absolved · cleared · unblemished · unimpeachable · irreproachable · defenseless · vulnerable
deflect
Turn from course
- distractDivert someone's attention
- smokescreenConcealment through misdirection
- decoyFalse target for misdirection
mislead · sidetrack · cover-up · evasion · misdirection · obfuscate · subterfuge · feint · ploy · ruse
witch-hunt
Persecution of supposed subversives
- McCarthyismPolitically-motivated accusation without evidence
- InquisitionChurch tribunal against heretics
- HUACRed Scare congressional committee
red-baiting · paranoia · fearmongering · stigma · labeling · denouncing · hysteria · blacklist · purge · pogrom
- excusesexcuse, not my fault, overslept, alibi, excuses
- Biblical imageryLamb of God, Good Shepherd, bread of life, light of the world, living water
- blood loreblood sacrifice, blood rituals, blood magic, blood oaths, blood covenant
- family dynamicsfamily dynamics, family roles, family therapy, sibling rivalry, parenting
- mythsmyth, legend, fable, fairy tale, folk tale
- character tropesantihero, hero, damsel in distress, mentor, femme fatale
scapegoatguilty party
One held responsible
wrongdoer · malefactor · perpetrator · culprit · offender
scapegoatpersecutor
One who harasses relentlessly
oppressor · accuser · witch hunter · inquisitor · tormentor
- scapegoat ritualCeremony transferring sins symbolically