lapider

Senses

1. 1.

   to stone; to throw stones at

   to strike or kill by hurling stones

2. 2.

   to stone (figurative); to criticize harshly

   to denounce or attack verbally

Examples

• "Dans l'Antiquité, les criminels étaient lapidés en place publique."

  In antiquity, criminals were stoned in the public square.

• "La foule a lapidé le politicien corrompu avec ses critiques acerbes."

  The crowd attacked the corrupt politician with harsh criticism.

• "Il a été lapidé par les médias après son scandale."

  He was crucified by the media after his scandal.

Usage

Lapider is a formal or literary verb in contemporary French. The literal sense (to stone to death) is historical and biblical. The figurative sense (to criticize harshly or condemn publicly) is more common in modern usage. Regular first-conjugation verb.