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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
Matthew Lee, Los Angeles Times, 20 May 2025
But most of Tuesday’s debate came from House Democrats, who excoriated the legislation as an attack on democracy and women in Missouri.
—Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 16 Apr. 2025
Warner overall excoriated the officials on the text list, some of whom were at the hearing, about the overall lapse in security and the dangers of alienating allies.
—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
See All Example Sentences for excoriate
Cite this Entry
“Excoriate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/excoriate. Accessed 27 May. 2025.
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excoriate
verb
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