1
as in to attack
to criticize harshly and usually publicly
the mayor had hardly been in office for a month before she was being excoriated for problems of very long standing
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Recent Examples of excoriate
The Wall Street Journal editorial board excoriated Attorney General Pam Bondi for suggesting hate speech is not protected under the law in the wake of conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s death.
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Sarah Fortinsky, The Hill, 17 Sep. 2025
Once again, Miller called Dudek and excoriated him.
—Eli Hager, ProPublica, 8 Sep. 2025
Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg excoriated Trump during an Iowa town hall hosted by the liberal group VoteVets Action Fund.
—Mabinty Quarshie, The Washington Examiner, 28 Aug. 2025
Cleaver and other Kansas City lawmakers have excoriated the effort, framing it as a brazen and undemocratic power grab that would dampen the voting power of Kansas City and its nearby suburbs.
—Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 22 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for excoriate
Sarah Fortinsky, The Hill, 17 Sep. 2025
Once again, Miller called Dudek and excoriated him.
—Eli Hager, ProPublica, 8 Sep. 2025
Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg excoriated Trump during an Iowa town hall hosted by the liberal group VoteVets Action Fund.
—Mabinty Quarshie, The Washington Examiner, 28 Aug. 2025
Cleaver and other Kansas City lawmakers have excoriated the effort, framing it as a brazen and undemocratic power grab that would dampen the voting power of Kansas City and its nearby suburbs.
—Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 22 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for excoriate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for excoriate
Verb
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Vinicius Jr also thrived in the Italian’s counter-attacking tactical setup, which was designed at least in part to suit his pace and direct running, and delivered the club’s two most recent Champions League trophies in 2022 and 2024.—
Dermot Corrigan,
New York Times,
31 Oct. 2025
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The only thing that carries any water is making up something to attack Gretchen.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
31 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Molnar said the team wanted to design a system that avoided irritating brain tissue.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
3 Nov. 2025
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But Chelsea won’t have it, shutting the whole thing down in a way that clearly irritates her.—
Anne Victoria Clark,
Vulture,
31 Oct. 2025
Verb
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This came after Nick Saban jokingly scolded himself for not fielding Sayin during their weeks-long overlap in 2023’s postseason at Alabama.—
Alex Kirshner,
New York Times,
2 Nov. 2025
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This way of peering at screen culture from an inexact distance, which also comes up in a scolding scene where Ethan scrolls aimlessly through something like TikTok, rankles in a play that is otherwise so precise about physical time and space.—
Jackson McHenry,
Vulture,
31 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Once the truck begins driving straight, the beige SUV speeds up and slams into the truck’s back-left side.—
Eric Levenson,
CNN Money,
25 Oct. 2025
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Back in 1961, residents of Capitola woke up to find that hordes of black seabirds were slamming into cars, windows and people's homes and dying.—
Stephanie Sengwe,
PEOPLE,
25 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Local and state officials criticized the immigration operation in the area Friday.—
Zoe Sottile,
CNN Money,
3 Nov. 2025
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Leipold said after a long pause, referencing fines for criticizing officiating.—
Shreyas Laddha,
Kansas City Star,
2 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Lee will later pop in to see Dan, the storefront lawyer next door, just to insult him by requesting a recommendation for a good lawyer.—
Amanda Whiting,
Vulture,
29 Oct. 2025
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Basil, of course, is far from perfect, a rude, neurotic, accident-prone manager who insults guests, hides his gambling winnings from his wife and organizes an elaborate impersonation of her when his surprise anniversary party backfires.—
Rhett Bartlett,
HollywoodReporter,
28 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Excoriate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/excoriate. Accessed 6 Nov. 2025.
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