as in sitting duck
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Recent Examples of lightning rod
The State Department's Global Engagement Center, the highly touted nerve center for coordinating U.S. efforts to counter foreign disinformation – especially by Russia and China – shut down this week after becoming a lightning rod for conservative criticism.
—
Josh Meyer, USA TODAY, 26 Dec. 2024
Azealia Banks, lightning rod and occasional oracle, is voting for Kamala Harris despite not liking her and previously supporting Trump.
—Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 6 Nov. 2024
Influential Shaul Kuba: West Adams transformer, lightning rod June 16, 2024
Now, the West Hollywood facility has ceased operating in order to make way for a new apartment tower.
—Roger Vincent, Los Angeles Times, 2 Nov. 2024
Ferguson, who is already one of the FTC's five commissioners, will replace Lina Khan, who became a lightning rod for Wall Street and Silicon Valley by blocking billions of dollars worth of corporate acquisitions and suing Amazon and Meta while alleging anticompetitive behavior.
—CBS News, 10 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for lightning rod 
Josh Meyer, USA TODAY, 26 Dec. 2024
Azealia Banks, lightning rod and occasional oracle, is voting for Kamala Harris despite not liking her and previously supporting Trump.
—Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 6 Nov. 2024
Influential Shaul Kuba: West Adams transformer, lightning rod June 16, 2024
Now, the West Hollywood facility has ceased operating in order to make way for a new apartment tower.
—Roger Vincent, Los Angeles Times, 2 Nov. 2024
Ferguson, who is already one of the FTC's five commissioners, will replace Lina Khan, who became a lightning rod for Wall Street and Silicon Valley by blocking billions of dollars worth of corporate acquisitions and suing Amazon and Meta while alleging anticompetitive behavior.
—CBS News, 10 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for lightning rod
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lightning rod
Noun
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The alternative: Residents risk being sitting ducks for future blazes. Consider Pacific Palisades.—
Elizabeth Robinson,
NBC News,
22 Jan. 2025
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Which had those seals, as Oats put it, out there in the open like sitting ducks.—
CJ Moore,
The Athletic,
18 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Once more, Turkey seems to have become a whipping boy for all manner of interests, some of which have little to do with the realities of Turkey itself.—
Hugh Pope,
Foreign Affairs,
21 Oct. 2010
-
The Republicans and their puppet master, Donald Trump, are ginning up the machine against immigration and making Mayorkas their whipping boy for chaos at the border.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
18 Apr. 2024
Noun
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While the United States tries to spy on one of the hardest targets, Burns has also tried to reopen a dialogue with Beijing, including via his counterpart, Chen Yixin, the security minister.—
Shane Harris,
The Atlantic,
17 Jan. 2025
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In 2023, the Navy and Air Force fell short of their recruitment targets, while the Marine Corps and the Space Force—by far the smallest branch—continued to meet their enlistment goals.—
Yaakov Katz,
Newsweek,
17 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
Neither the driver nor the victims have been publicly identified by authorities.—
Joseph Wilkinson,
New York Daily News,
27 Jan. 2025
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Olivia Godfrey, the couple's daughter, provided a victim impact statement and said her father's drug use impacted his mental health, according to ABC.—
Brenton Blanchet,
People.com,
27 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Doing so causes an attached strap to pull the seat taut between them, ready to receive your butt.—
Ben Coxworth,
New Atlas,
20 Jan. 2025
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This delusion is why strategy execution is the butt of so many organizational jokes.—
Doug Sundheim,
Forbes,
18 Jan. 2025
Noun
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These features, whether natural or man-made, provide critical foraging opportunities by increasing prey availability in the surrounding waters.—
Melissa Cristina Marquez,
Forbes,
22 Jan. 2025
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On rare occasions, a very hungry bear may attack a human as prey.—
Raul A. Reyes,
Newsweek,
22 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near lightning rod
Cite this Entry
“Lightning rod.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lightning%20rod. Accessed 30 Jan. 2025.
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