as in sitting duck
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Recent Examples of lightning rod
Baraka claims Habba improperly ordered his arrest and prosecution for allegedly trespassing at Delaney Hall, a detention center near Newark Airport that has become a lightning rod for opponents of President Trump’s widening crackdown on undocumented immigration.
—
Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 3 June 2025
The 41-year-old former MVP has been a lightning rod of controversy in the media for expressing conservative opinions during podcast appearances the last four years.
—Jackson Thompson, FOXNews.com, 21 May 2025
While all aviation accounts for just two percent of global carbon emissions, and private jets comprise only two percent of that, business aviation remains a lightning rod for anti-wealth campaigners who position private flyers as mass polluters.
—Doug Gollan, Forbes.com, 10 June 2025
Bodies of all kinds sought access to, and challenged each other’s claims to, American citizenship—and hair became a lightning rod for all of it.
—Literary Hub, 9 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for lightning rod
Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 3 June 2025
The 41-year-old former MVP has been a lightning rod of controversy in the media for expressing conservative opinions during podcast appearances the last four years.
—Jackson Thompson, FOXNews.com, 21 May 2025
While all aviation accounts for just two percent of global carbon emissions, and private jets comprise only two percent of that, business aviation remains a lightning rod for anti-wealth campaigners who position private flyers as mass polluters.
—Doug Gollan, Forbes.com, 10 June 2025
Bodies of all kinds sought access to, and challenged each other’s claims to, American citizenship—and hair became a lightning rod for all of it.
—Literary Hub, 9 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for lightning rod
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lightning rod
Noun
-
Humans are sitting ducks for this application of an intimate, emotional chat bot that provides constant validation without the friction of having to deal with another person’s needs.—
Miles Klee,
Rolling Stone,
22 June 2025
-
Drones like the Shahed which fly in a straight line with no attempt to evade ought to be sitting ducks.—
David Hambling,
Forbes.com,
16 June 2025
Noun
-
On Tuesday Bayern Munich takes on Benfica and Boca Juniors faces whipping boys Auckland City.—
Joseph O'Sullivan,
Forbes.com,
23 June 2025
-
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
Noun
-
The business had also been the target of pro-Palestinian demonstrations in the past year.—
Rod McGuirk,
Sun Sentinel,
15 July 2025
-
The threat of 100% secondary tariffs alongside the bipartisan Graham-Blumenthal sanctions bill that targets Russian oil sales are the right targets.—
Daniel Fried,
Time,
15 July 2025
Noun
-
The store brand juggernaut triggered by pandemic-era inflation and economic uncertainty has passed a tipping point with consumers and may have claimed its first national brand victim.—
Greg Petro,
Forbes.com,
14 July 2025
-
The same region of Texas Hill Country where a flash flood on July 4 killed more than 130 people was hit again with downpours a week later, forcing searchers to temporarily pause their efforts to find missing victims.—
Jeremy Porter,
CBS News,
14 July 2025
Noun
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The wildcard in the second fight, at least for Serrano, was the cut that was opened above her eye from a head butt.—
Trent Reinsmith,
Forbes.com,
9 July 2025
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For the latter, Robinson stopped singing at one point and, with deadpan delivery, suggested the only thing that helped with his mental health struggles was a Brazilian butt lift, before shaking his rear for the giddy crowd.—
jsonline.com,
jsonline.com,
4 July 2025
Noun
-
After all, snowmobiles can’t smell seals or polar bears, nor travel quietly enough to avoid scaring off potential prey.—
Lauren Leffer,
Popular Science,
10 July 2025
-
In that way, Broken Voices is about the circumstances that allow abuse to happen; Vitek is like a vampire, a cold and distant creature capable of great charm, and Karolina, in all her disarming naivety, is easy prey.—
Damon Wise,
Deadline,
10 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Lightning rod.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lightning%20rod. Accessed 19 Jul. 2025.
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