excoriate

verb ex·co·ri·ate \ ek-ˈskȯr-ē-ˌāt \

Definition of excoriate

excoriated; excoriating

transitive verb

1 :to wear off the skin of :abrade

2 :to censure scathingly

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excoriation

play \(ˌ)ek-ˌskȯr-ē-ˈā-shən\ noun

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Examples of excoriate in a Sentence

He was excoriated as a racist.
The candidates have publicly excoriated each other throughout the campaign.

Recent Examples of excoriate from the Web

Critics excoriate the banner as a racist remnant of slavery and segregation.

— Washington Post, "Despite recurring turmoil, Mississippi hasn’t budged on flag," 17 Aug. 2017
In a statement, Trump excoriated that legislation on Wednesday as partially unconstitutional.

— peter grier, The Christian Science Monitor, "Why Congress is ignoring Trump," 2 Aug. 2017
He was excoriated during his confirmation hearing last month by Sen. John McCain, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

— jeremy herb, CNN, "Senate confirms the Pentagon's new No. 2," 18 July 2017
In recent months, however, the pair have excoriated Trump on the air, denouncing his behavior and questioning his mental health — criticisms the president views as a personal betrayal, according to a senior administration official.

— christopher mele, Alaska Dispatch News, "MSNBC host Mika Brzezinski says Trump’s tweets reveal a ‘childlike ego’," 30 June 2017
From Rich Lowry’s syndicated column, June 21: There’s no doubt that Democrats want to watch TV programs that excoriate the president.

— WSJ, "Notable & Quotable: Social-Issue Orthodoxy," 23 June 2017
Excoriated by the defense for charging Cosby in the first place, District Attorney Kevin Steele vowed to put him on trial a second time, saying accuser Andrea Constand supported the decision.

— CBS News, "Prosecutors vow Bill Cosby retrial on sex assault charges after jury deadlocks," 17 June 2017
As a joke, D’aron and his three friends put the dots on their foreheads — and are promptly excoriated for being insensitive to Hindu students.

— brendan kiley, The Seattle Times, "‘Welcome to Braggsville’ at Book-It Theatre elegantly slides a knife into American racism," 16 June 2017
Even Luis Almagro, the secretary general of the Organization of American States, evoked the term this week while excoriating Maduro.

— nick miroff, Washington Post, "Is Venezuela on a path to civil war?," 14 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'excoriate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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).