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Excoriate, which first appeared in English in the 15th century, comes from "excoriatus," the past participle of the Late Latin verb excoriare, meaning "to strip off the hide." "Excoriare" was itself formed from a pairing of the Latin prefix ex-, meaning "out," and corium, meaning "skin" or "hide" or "leather." "Corium" has several other descendants in English. One is "cuirass," a name for a piece of armor that covers the body from neck to waist (or something, such as bony plates covering an animal, that resembles such armor). Another is "corium" itself, which is sometimes used as a synonym of "dermis" (the inner layer of human skin).
Synonyms
Examples of excoriate in a Sentence
Kevin Rennie, Hartford Courant, 22 June 2024
Bishop Joseph Strickland of Tyler, Tex., was stripped of his diocese, while American Cardinal Raymond Burke, who frequently spoke at conservative conferences that excoriated Francis, lost his pension and Rome apartment.
—Stefano Pitrelli, Washington Post, 20 June 2024
In response, Rice excoriated NYPD brass for not releasing key evidence in the case until after the deadline.
—Graham Rayman, New York Daily News, 25 Apr. 2024
Chinese diplomats routinely excoriate the West for its colonial-era crimes against indigenous peoples.
—Tenzin Dorjee, Foreign Affairs, 28 Nov. 2023
See all Example Sentences for excoriate 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'excoriate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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“Excoriate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/excoriate. Accessed 4 Jul. 2024.
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excoriate
verb
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