1
as in attacks
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 excoriates
Woodcutters sets forth the musings of a narrator sitting in an armchair at a dinner party who excoriates the literary awards establishments of his native land (and by extension all lands that are host to a robust bourgeoisie).
—
Literary Hub, 19 Feb. 2026
Literary Hub, 19 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for excoriates
Verb
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The president frequently attacks the former FBI director because of his role in investigating alleged ties between the president's 2016 campaign and Russia.—
Melissa Quinn,
CBS News,
28 Apr. 2026
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The movement from Odegaard and Zubimendi towards the ball occupies Willock and Guimaraes, while White attacks the space vacated by the Newcastle captain and Havertz drops to provide a passing option.—
Ahmed Walid,
New York Times,
27 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Daisy is caught so off guard that her first reaction is to laugh, which irritates Ben.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
28 Apr. 2026
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Castor Oil Castor oil irritates the digestive system of the moles and makes the soil less inviting to them.—
Nadia Hassani,
The Spruce,
7 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Or tie scolds to the ducking stool again.—
Annie Lowrey,
The Atlantic,
28 Apr. 2026
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McMahon likes to remind scolds that wrestling is a morality play.—
Zach Helfand,
New Yorker,
20 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Now, however, the team behind the new research believes the events are caused when a compact stellar remnant, like a black hole or a neutron star, slams into the universe's hottest class of star, massive stellar bodies called Wolf-Rayet stars.—
Robert Lea,
Space.com,
8 May 2026
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In other words, automatic registration slams the courthouse door on women, but not on men, because registration is its own injury.—
Wendy Murphy,
Boston Herald,
27 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The audit also criticizes the city for not trying to boost compliance by issuing fines.—
David Garrick,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
7 May 2026
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OpenAI memo criticizes Anthropic watch now Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news.—
Ashley Capoot,
CNBC,
20 Apr. 2026
Verb
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According to Lewkowitz, if a grower abuses the soil, the system ceases to be viable, leaving zero likelihood of success from a sustainability standpoint.—
Arthur Zaczkiewicz,
Footwear News,
27 Apr. 2026
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Under my watch, anyone who abuses wildlife in Florida will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.—
Ashley Miznazi,
Miami Herald,
27 Mar. 2026
Verb
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As an example, Vance called out an essay in The Nation that assails Kirk’s views on women, homosexuality, and affirmative action.—
Jonathan Blitzer,
New Yorker,
20 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Orbán frequently lambastes the EU, but its funding helped keep the country afloat despite his disastrous economic policies.—
Elizabeth Shackelford,
Chicago Tribune,
17 Apr. 2026
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Desire fires him, cuts him to pieces, lambastes him.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
6 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Excoriates.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/excoriates. Accessed 10 May. 2026.
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