excoriate

verb

ex·​co·​ri·​ate ek-ˈskȯr-ē-ˌāt 

excoriated; excoriating

transitive verb

1

: to wear off the skin of : abrade

2

: to censure scathingly

excoriation

(ˌ)ek-ˌskȯr-ē-ˈā-shən 

noun

Did you know?

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

• abuse
• assail
• attack
• bash
• belabor
• blast
• castigate
• jump (on)
• lambaste
• lambast
• potshot
• savage
• scathe
• slam
• trash
• vituperate

Examples of excoriate in a Sentence

He was excoriated as a racist.

The candidates have publicly excoriated each other throughout the campaign.

Recent Examples on the Web

Nationally syndicated Washington Post columnist Michael Gerson, once a presidential speechwriter for George W. Bush, repeatedly excoriated evangelical support of Trump. —Angie Leventis Lourgos, Chicago Tribune, 22 Sep. 2024

Starring Jonathan Bennett, Tim Meadows, Amanda Seyfried, Ana Gasteyer, Amy Poehler, Lizzy Caplan and Fey, the bubbly pink yet darkly satisfying movie excoriates the impossibilities of teen girlhood and the chaos that ensues when an outsider is enlisted to spy on the most popular group in school. —Natalie Oganesyan, Deadline, 9 Sep. 2024

The House Oversight and Accountability Committee excoriated Cheatle at a hearing Monday for having no explanation for how a gunman was able to climb onto the roof of a building within 150 yards of the former president and fire eight shots, one of which struck Trump in the ear. —Bart Jansen, USA TODAY, 24 July 2024

And the defense’s only real witness was so defiant that the judge, after excoriating him, cleared the courtroom. —Maggie Haberman, New York Times, 20 May 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Late Latin excoriatus, past participle of excoriare, from Latin ex- + corium skin, hide — more at cuirass

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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Kids Definition

excoriate

verb

ex·​co·​ri·​ate ek-ˈskōr-ē-āt 

-ˈskȯr-

excoriated; excoriating

: to criticize very severely

excoriation

(ˌ)ek-ˌskōr-ē-ˈā-shən 

-ˌskȯr-

noun