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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).
Examples of excoriate in a Sentence
Max Goldbart, Deadline, 4 July 2025
Throughout that first treatise, Locke excoriated the divine right of kings.
—Time, 1 July 2025
His social media posts excoriating Powell have become a fixture of monthly Fed meetings.
—Jim Edwards, Fortune, 1 July 2025
But this version of the bill was promptly excoriated by vocal coalitions in both parties.
—Billy Perrigo, Time, 1 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for excoriate
Cite this Entry
“Excoriate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/excoriate. Accessed 31 Jul. 2025.
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excoriate
verb
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