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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
Jake Lundberg, The Atlantic, 13 Mar. 2026
During a fiery congressional hearing last month, Democrats excoriated Bondi over haphazard redactions in the Epstein files that exposed intimate details about victims and included nude photographs.
—Arkansas Online, 5 Mar. 2026
During a fiery congressional hearing last month, Democrats excoriated Bondi over haphazard redactions in the Epstein files that exposed intimate details about victims and included nude photographs.
—ABC News, 4 Mar. 2026
Since the Whitney Biennial was founded in 1932, art-world denizens and casual observers alike have relished the opportunity both to champion and excoriate the slates of artists put forward.
—Julie Belcove, Robb Report, 28 Feb. 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 18 Mar. 2026.
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excoriate
verb
