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Excoriate, which first appeared in English in the 15th century, comes from "excoriatus," the past participle of the Late Latin verb excoriare, meaning "to strip off the hide." "Excoriare" was itself formed from a pairing of the Latin prefix ex-, meaning "out," and corium, meaning "skin" or "hide" or "leather." "Corium" has several other descendants in English. One is "cuirass," a name for a piece of armor that covers the body from neck to waist (or something, such as bony plates covering an animal, that resembles such armor). Another is "corium" itself, which is sometimes used as a synonym of "dermis" (the inner layer of human skin).
Synonyms
Examples of excoriate in a Sentence
Hamed Aleaziz, New York Times, 4 June 2024
Biden is also facing opposition from within his own party, especially progressives who likened the president's executive actions to policies of former President Donald Trump, which Democrats excoriated at the time.
—Will McDuffie, ABC News, 4 June 2024
In the three-hour exchange that followed, Wenstrup and his Republican colleagues excoriated Dr. Peter Daszak, a scientist at the center of the debate around COVID’s origins.
—Geoff Brumfiel, NPR, 2 June 2024
Due to this tool’s narrow and thin edge and crescent shape design, the blade is extremely sharp and therefore cuts swiftly through the dirt to excoriate weeds.
—Stephanie Osmanski, Better Homes & Gardens, 30 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for excoriate 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'excoriate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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“Excoriate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/excoriate. Accessed 10 Jun. 2024.
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excoriate
verb
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