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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
Matthew Kelly, Kansas City Star, 26 Jan. 2026
However, in 2024 State Auditor Grant Parks excoriated Newsom’s own California Interagency Council on Homelessness for failing to effectively monitor and coordinate homelessness programs — even though the state had spent more than $20 billion during Newsom’s governorship.
—Dan Walters, Mercury News, 16 Jan. 2026
National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya raised these points when excoriating siblings studies on social media in September.
—O. Rose Broderick, STAT, 16 Jan. 2026
Non-journalists excoriated the media’s reaction.
—David Aldridge, New York Times, 14 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for excoriate
Cite this Entry
“Excoriate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/excoriate. Accessed 28 Jan. 2026.
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excoriate
verb
