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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).
Examples of excoriate in a Sentence
Jim Edwards, Fortune, 1 July 2025
But this version of the bill was promptly excoriated by vocal coalitions in both parties.
—Billy Perrigo, Time, 1 July 2025
With featured guests including superstars SZA and Doja Cat, Lizzo goes for the jugular throughout her radical mixtape to excoriate exes, doubters, haters and anyone else trying to dim her shine.
—Stephen Daw, Billboard, 27 June 2025
The State Building and Construction Trades Council, a construction union umbrella group that regularly clashes with the carpenters union on labor issues, excoriated the proposal in a letter to legislative leadership yesterday.
—Ben Christopher, Mercury News, 27 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for excoriate
Cite this Entry
“Excoriate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://x0upouf933.proxynodejs.usequeue.com/dictionary/excoriate. Accessed 12 Jul. 2025.
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excoriate
verb
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