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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Hantavirus is a rare but deadly disease that attacks the lungs and is typically contracted by humans through inhalation of particles contaminated with the urine, feces or saliva of a wild rodent.—
Karen Garcia,
Los Angeles Times,
7 May 2026
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Sebastian Gorka, the senior director for counterterrorism at the National Security Council, said an immediate example would be for other countries to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran attacks commercial shipping.—
Bart Jansen,
USA Today,
6 May 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 11 May. 2026.
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