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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of excoriating
There’s no question Newsom — who had spent months excoriating refiners for gouging consumers on gasoline prices, even calling a special legislative session to impose new regulations — changed his tune after two refineries announced plans to shut down.
—
Dan Walters, Mercury News, 30 Sep. 2025
But a federal judge threw out the lawsuit in March 2024, excoriating the platform’s case as plainly punitive rather than about protecting the platform’s security and legal rights.
—Hadas Gold, CNN Money, 29 Sep. 2025
The level of anger was quickly evident in state media broadcasts - which analysts say are often a measure of official Saudi viewpoints - with television news reports personally excoriating Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
—Pesha Magid, Reuters, 14 Feb. 2025
Dan Walters, Mercury News, 30 Sep. 2025
But a federal judge threw out the lawsuit in March 2024, excoriating the platform’s case as plainly punitive rather than about protecting the platform’s security and legal rights.
—Hadas Gold, CNN Money, 29 Sep. 2025
The level of anger was quickly evident in state media broadcasts - which analysts say are often a measure of official Saudi viewpoints - with television news reports personally excoriating Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
—Pesha Magid, Reuters, 14 Feb. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for excoriating
Verb
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Teams found a way to negate Forest’s counter-attacking style.—
Paul Taylor,
New York Times,
1 Oct. 2025
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And more so than most nights, the Bengals' offensive identity for a long first-half stretch seemed to hinge on attacking quick underneath routes to open up shots to Higgins -- or Chase -- on Moss.—
Luca Evans,
Denver Post,
30 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Always dilute apple cider vinegar with water and drink through a straw to avoid damaging tooth enamel and irritating the esophagus.—
Maggie O'Neill,
Verywell Health,
2 Oct. 2025
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Her aging stepfather knocks heads with her flawed and irritating ex-husband, who also moves into the home.—
The Know,
Denver Post,
28 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Kirk followed Guerrero the next inning, slamming the first of his two homers over the outfield wall.—
Mitch Bannon,
New York Times,
5 Oct. 2025
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Nonprofit watchdog group Human Rights Watch and fellow comedians like David Cross and Marc Maron, however, are saying otherwise, accusing the festival of deflecting from the country's human rights violations and slamming their peers for their involvement.—
Jessica Wang,
Entertainment Weekly,
30 Sep. 2025
Verb
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There is an undercurrent of pulsing creative energy that is meticulously refined and barely scratching its surface.—
Aaron Davis,
Sacbee.com,
6 Oct. 2025
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But in OpenAI’s view, the company is merely scratching the surface of its full potential.—
Senior Reporter,
PC Magazine,
6 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Miss Sammie flashed the scolding look Jean had known since childhood, though playfully now.—
David Wright Faladé,
New Yorker,
28 Sep. 2025
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Shipp is tasked with scolding her father and delivering leaden exposition.—
Esther Zuckerman,
IndieWire,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Blood curdling screams and chains scraping against the ground can be heard throughout the prison.—
Paige Moore,
AZCentral.com,
3 Oct. 2025
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Beat together brown sugar and butter with a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment on high speed until light and creamy, about 2 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.—
Sheri Castle,
Southern Living,
1 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Her coach Cheryl Reeve was later suspended after postgame comments criticizing the officiating in that game.—
Kevin Dotson,
CNN Money,
4 Oct. 2025
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Trump has also spoken at length about his concerns about the New York City mayoral race, criticizing the potential election of progressive candidate Zohran Mamdani, who drew national attention for beating former Governor Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary.—
Peter Aitken,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Excoriating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/excoriating. Accessed 9 Oct. 2025.
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