1
as in attacked
to criticize harshly and usually publicly
the mayor had hardly been in office for a month before she was being excoriated for problems of very long standing
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Recent Examples of excoriated
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
Cleaver and other Kansas City lawmakers have excoriated the effort, framing it as a brazen and undemocratic power grab that would dampen the voting power of Kansas City and its nearby suburbs.
—Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 22 Aug. 2025
Online, fans excoriated the bright lights and banality of the revamp so aggressively that the company’s chief marketing officer paid the Reddit forum a visit to quell concerns.
—Katherine Laidlaw, HubSpot, 8 Aug. 2025
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
Cleaver and other Kansas City lawmakers have excoriated the effort, framing it as a brazen and undemocratic power grab that would dampen the voting power of Kansas City and its nearby suburbs.
—Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 22 Aug. 2025
Online, fans excoriated the bright lights and banality of the revamp so aggressively that the company’s chief marketing officer paid the Reddit forum a visit to quell concerns.
—Katherine Laidlaw, HubSpot, 8 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for excoriated
Verb
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The Eagles attacked Skinner again, and the home crowd begged for a flag after the safety aggressively defended tight end Dallas Goedert, but no penalty was called.—
Nick Kosmider,
New York Times,
6 Oct. 2025
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In the southern border city of Sderot, which was attacked on October 7, and is frequently the target of rocket fire, a group of Israelis gathered at an observation deck overlooking Gaza to revel in its ruin.—
Zeena Saifi,
CNN Money,
5 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The decision by Aaron Turner, Kuminga’s agent, to go on a media tour in recent weeks while negotiating publicly in hopes of landing a better offer for Kuminga, irritated some with the organization, according to league sources.—
Nick Friedell,
New York Times,
1 Oct. 2025
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And the web designer from South Dakota certainly must have irritated her former final two ally Vince Panaro on her way out of the Big Brother house.—
Dalton Ross,
Entertainment Weekly,
19 Sep. 2025
Verb
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And in a different year, with a different quarterback, the outcome was the same early in Monday night’s first quarter as Higgins pivoted to his back-shoulder and slammed to the turf with a 19-yard catch.—
Luca Evans,
Denver Post,
30 Sep. 2025
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Tatiana slammed the horn and floored the gas pedal, roaring into her backyard.—
Jay Weaver,
Miami Herald,
29 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The lucky ticket scratched by Hawkins was for the $100,000 Extreme Cash game, according to lottery officials.—
Abigail Adams,
PEOPLE,
1 Oct. 2025
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With the envelope rule enforced, the match was scratched and the scoreboard adjusted to 12–5.—
Devlina Sarkar,
MSNBC Newsweek,
28 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Chun also scolded attorneys for Amazon in July for withholding thousands of documents from the FTC and abusing a legal privilege to shield them from scrutiny.—
Annie Palmer,
CNBC,
23 Sep. 2025
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The heartwarming video, shared on Saturday by @inboxunknown15, shows the pup sitting head down, facing the wall, looking sad and ashamed after being scolded by his owner’s girlfriend.—
Maria Azzurra Volpe,
MSNBC Newsweek,
23 Sep. 2025
Verb
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While some people shared Musk’s enthusiasm, others criticized the decision.—
Amaris Encinas,
USA Today,
7 Oct. 2025
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Some council members have criticized the proposal, citing a lack of communication and calling the move premature.—
Vanessa Swales,
jsonline.com,
6 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Excoriated.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/excoriated. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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