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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
Theresa Braine, New York Daily News, 26 Mar. 2025
Somewhere, Tom Wolfe, who excoriated modern architecture in From Bauhaus to Our House, is smiling.
—Peter Tonguette, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 14 Mar. 2025
Though Saturday Night excoriates Chase as a haughty frat-adjacent character and the actor’s reputation as being difficult to work with precedes him, an early writer paints a more humble picture.
—Natalie Oganesyan, Deadline, 15 Feb. 2025
His vast wealth also has its liabilities in a party where billionaires are more often excoriated than celebrated.
8.
—Niall Stanage, The Hill, 21 Apr. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Excoriate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/excoriate. Accessed 13 May. 2025.
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excoriate
verb
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