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 Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
How has Fawlty Towers, one of the most offbeat, provincial, inappropriate, and heavily excoriated shows of all time, remained popular for 50 years?—Jonathan Margolis, Air Mail, 20 Sep. 2025 The Wall Street Journal editorial board excoriated Attorney General Pam Bondi for suggesting hate speech is not protected under the law in the wake of conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s death.—Sarah Fortinsky, The Hill, 17 Sep. 2025 Once again, Miller called Dudek and excoriated him.—Eli Hager, ProPublica, 8 Sep. 2025 Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg excoriated Trump during an Iowa town hall hosted by the liberal group VoteVets Action Fund.—Mabinty Quarshie, The Washington Examiner, 28 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for excoriate
Word History
Etymology
Middle English, from Late Latin excoriatus, past participle of excoriare, from Latin ex- + corium skin, hide — more at cuirass
Share