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
In a letter to the state senator, obtained by The Star, the groups excoriated Hall’s nomination on four counts.
—
Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 29 Jan. 2026
The lower house in the Dutch parliament approved a plan to scrap bonus restrictions for most financial sector staff, a major step in softening a rule that has long been excoriated by the industry.
—Sarah Jacob, Bloomberg, 27 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
Non-journalists excoriated the media’s reaction.
—David Aldridge, New York Times, 14 Jan. 2026
Pentwater Capital, a large WBD shareholder and one of the top merger-arbitrage shops, publicly excoriated WBD’s refusal to play ball with Paramount on CNBC Wednesday and said the firm would block the deal with Netflix.
—Rohan Goswami, semafor.com, 8 Jan. 2026
And the organization was, of course, excoriated by both Democrats and Republicans for promoting its Project 2025 book of policy proposals.
—Emily Brooks, The Hill, 11 Nov. 2025
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
Once again, Miller called Dudek and excoriated him.
—Eli Hager, ProPublica, 8 Sep. 2025
Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 29 Jan. 2026
The lower house in the Dutch parliament approved a plan to scrap bonus restrictions for most financial sector staff, a major step in softening a rule that has long been excoriated by the industry.
—Sarah Jacob, Bloomberg, 27 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
Non-journalists excoriated the media’s reaction.
—David Aldridge, New York Times, 14 Jan. 2026
Pentwater Capital, a large WBD shareholder and one of the top merger-arbitrage shops, publicly excoriated WBD’s refusal to play ball with Paramount on CNBC Wednesday and said the firm would block the deal with Netflix.
—Rohan Goswami, semafor.com, 8 Jan. 2026
And the organization was, of course, excoriated by both Democrats and Republicans for promoting its Project 2025 book of policy proposals.
—Emily Brooks, The Hill, 11 Nov. 2025
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
Once again, Miller called Dudek and excoriated him.
—Eli Hager, ProPublica, 8 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for excoriated
Verb
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One study in 2020 surveyed 261 herders in Mongolia, another common habitat for snow leopards; while many reported having seen snow leopards, or had their livestock attacked by snow leopards, none reported any attacks on humans.—
Jessie Yeung,
CNN Money,
27 Jan. 2026
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The upstream piranhas attacked her, and her blood flowing downstream attracted the rest of the piranhas, leaving the creek clear for the herd to cross.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
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For a long time your political cartoons published in the editorial pages have irritated me.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
13 Jan. 2026
-
The song, which reclaims a derogatory term for Venezuelan female migrants, was interpreted as defiant and irritated the Venezuelan president, then facing widespread reports of electoral fraud.—
Leonor C. Suárez,
Rolling Stone,
4 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Wilson slammed Homeland Security officials for the shooting that came a day after a woman was fatally shot by immigration agents in Minneapolis.—
Michael Loria,
USA Today,
9 Jan. 2026
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Many Democrats have slammed the administration's conclusions, arguing that the video does not appear to show the woman trying to hit officers.—
Maggie Vespa,
NBC news,
8 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Joining him on the bench in street clothes will be Draymond Green, who was scratched with a back injury that Kerr said the Warriors were approaching similarly to Curry’s knee.—
Joseph Dycus,
Mercury News,
27 Jan. 2026
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White Abarrio — the 2025 Pegasus winner who was scratched on-track at the Breeders’ Cup last year and hadn’t run since — was one of the favorites for this race, and few thought the 7-year-old Skippylongstocking would have enough to get to the line first.—
Tim Reynolds,
Sun Sentinel,
26 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Students sat in rows, making faces at each other, scolded by their teachers to behave.—
David Wilson,
Daily News,
7 Jan. 2026
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Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders scolded the media on Sunday after the team’s close loss to the Buffalo Bills at home.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
22 Dec. 2025
Verb
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Chinese state media criticized the H20 for lacking technological prowess and being environmentally unfriendly, with regulators eventually halting imports over security concerns.—
Joe Toscano,
Forbes.com,
26 Jan. 2026
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Liston questioned why Pretti was carrying a handgun — which appeared to be removed from its holster by an officer just before the shooting — and Baisley criticized Minneapolis’ local leadership and immigrants without proper legal status.—
Seth Klamann,
Denver Post,
26 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Excoriated.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/excoriated. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.
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