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).
He was excoriated as a racist.
The candidates have publicly excoriated each other throughout the campaign.
Recent Examples on the WebDuring a 2019 debate, Mr. Biden, then a candidate running against Mr. Trump for the first time, excoriated his rival’s policies.—Hamed Aleaziz, New York Times, 4 June 2024 Biden is also facing opposition from within his own party, especially progressives who likened the president's executive actions to policies of former President Donald Trump, which Democrats excoriated at the time.—Will McDuffie, ABC News, 4 June 2024 In the three-hour exchange that followed, Wenstrup and his Republican colleagues excoriated Dr. Peter Daszak, a scientist at the center of the debate around COVID’s origins.—Geoff Brumfiel, NPR, 2 June 2024 Due to this tool’s narrow and thin edge and crescent shape design, the blade is extremely sharp and therefore cuts swiftly through the dirt to excoriate weeds.—Stephanie Osmanski, Better Homes & Gardens, 30 May 2024 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.
Word History
Etymology
Middle English, from Late Latin excoriatus, past participle of excoriare, from Latin ex- + corium skin, hide — more at cuirass
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