1
as in attacking
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 excoriating
Hannah Einbinder brings vulnerability to a project that needs her brand of self-excoriating fearlessness.
—
Joshua Rothkopf,
Los Angeles Times,
22 May 2026
And she’s proven a popular voice on social media, where a recent TikTok video excoriating the Supreme Court decision on voting rights drew more than 19 million views.
—
Aidan McLaughlin,
Vanity Fair,
21 May 2026
William Hall, who represents Chatham, from excoriating the company.
—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
6 May 2026
At a parliamentary hearing in 2023, MPs asked the former minister of state for development and Africa, Andrew Mitchell, a series of excoriating questions about its decision to invest taxpayer money in companies accused of human rights breaches, including the Nairobi Women’s Hospital.
—
Hettie O'Brien,
The Dial,
21 Apr. 2026
The famous detective novelist and screenwriter had written an essay for the magazine excoriating the motion-picture industry and its tolerance for—indeed celebration of—mindless mediocrity.
—
Jake Lundberg,
The Atlantic,
13 Mar. 2026
The president often has chosen a combative approach, even excoriating Democrats during the bipartisan prayer breakfast this year, Upton noted.
—
Zac Anderson,
USA Today,
21 Feb. 2026
National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya raised these points when excoriating siblings studies on social media in September.
—
O. Rose Broderick,
STAT,
16 Jan. 2026
The beat resumed, the volume its usual excoriating self, Shields’ guitar reprogrammed to give a hint of body-moving swing.
—
Jazz Monroe,
Pitchfork,
28 Nov. 2025
Joshua Rothkopf,
Los Angeles Times,
22 May 2026
And she’s proven a popular voice on social media, where a recent TikTok video excoriating the Supreme Court decision on voting rights drew more than 19 million views.
—
Aidan McLaughlin,
Vanity Fair,
21 May 2026
William Hall, who represents Chatham, from excoriating the company.
—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
6 May 2026
At a parliamentary hearing in 2023, MPs asked the former minister of state for development and Africa, Andrew Mitchell, a series of excoriating questions about its decision to invest taxpayer money in companies accused of human rights breaches, including the Nairobi Women’s Hospital.
—
Hettie O'Brien,
The Dial,
21 Apr. 2026
The famous detective novelist and screenwriter had written an essay for the magazine excoriating the motion-picture industry and its tolerance for—indeed celebration of—mindless mediocrity.
—
Jake Lundberg,
The Atlantic,
13 Mar. 2026
The president often has chosen a combative approach, even excoriating Democrats during the bipartisan prayer breakfast this year, Upton noted.
—
Zac Anderson,
USA Today,
21 Feb. 2026
National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya raised these points when excoriating siblings studies on social media in September.
—
O. Rose Broderick,
STAT,
16 Jan. 2026
The beat resumed, the volume its usual excoriating self, Shields’ guitar reprogrammed to give a hint of body-moving swing.
—
Jazz Monroe,
Pitchfork,
28 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for excoriating
Verb
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He is accused of attacking a 27-year-old man with a beer mug inside the Hula Bar on Saturday night.
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Liv Morgan controversially interrupted Iyo Sky's coronation, attacking her and forcing a tap-out.
Verb
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Unanswered workplace messages are a common, irritating phenomenon, often perceived as deliberate avoidance despite recipients being active elsewhere.
-
Morales turns another character who can be irritating into one whose lot, and whose needs, demands attention.
Verb
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An on-and-off again rivalry during the primary The two men shared a similar message during the primary, slamming Democrats for mismanaging the state and calling for tax cuts and regulatory rollbacks.
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Also in 2007, Spencer was sentenced concurrently to seven years in prison for choking a woman, slamming her head to the ground, and robbing her of her cellphone, and for smashing into a woman's car and ransacking it, prosecutors said.
Verb
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In a game not known for high scores, the pace of goals in this World Cup has left some fans scratching their heads.
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In April, when Rojas got news that his father had been rushed to the hospital, Roberts quickly took the decision on whether to play out of Rojas’ hands, scratching him from the lineup.
Verb
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This ancient poem isn’t interested in scolding women for their sexuality, but in the establishment of honor in the elite household.
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The princess hilariously put her little brother in his place by scolding him.
Verb
-
Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with ⅓ cup sour cream in 2 additions (about 2½ tablespoons each), scraping down bowl as needed.
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Meanwhile the servers strain under the weight of AI companies scraping the encyclopedia in bulk, on a roughly $180 million annual budget funded mostly by donations of between two and eleven dollars.
Verb
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Acknowledging and even criticizing our mistakes of the past doesn’t cheapen one’s love for the United States.
-
The movie continues its tradition of addressing social issues, this time focusing on human equality and colonial looting, with pointed dialogue criticizing the British Empire.
Cite this Entry
“Excoriating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/excoriating. Accessed 6 Jul. 2026.
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