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 WebTwo key war cabinet members, Mr. Gallant and Benny Gantz, a former military chief, had publicly excoriated Mr. Netanyahu in recent days for failing to develop a plan for governing Gaza.—Isabel Kershner, New York Times, 21 May 2024 While the filibuster was underway in the Senate earlier this month, a chorus of Missouri health care groups and the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry excoriated the Freedom Caucus for blocking the measure.—Anna Sago, Kansas City Star, 15 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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