1
as in to attack
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 excoriate
The argument has, at times, sounded outright offensive; Ramaswamy, for instance, justified his preference for cheap foreign labor by excoriating American culture itself.
—
David Faris, Newsweek, 27 Dec. 2024
Her long record as a foreign policy dissident under both Democratic and Republican presidents will give Senate hawks plenty to scrutinize — and, perhaps, to excoriate.
—Doyle McManus, The Mercury News, 7 Dec. 2024
The presidential victor will be showered in praise while the loser will be excoriated — no matter how close the election turns out to be.
—Alexis Simendinger, The Hill, 5 Nov. 2024
While the two sides have excoriated each other and launched public recriminations that sound almost scripted for journalists to write about, their legal disagreement is far less dramatic.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 30 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for excoriate 
David Faris, Newsweek, 27 Dec. 2024
Her long record as a foreign policy dissident under both Democratic and Republican presidents will give Senate hawks plenty to scrutinize — and, perhaps, to excoriate.
—Doyle McManus, The Mercury News, 7 Dec. 2024
The presidential victor will be showered in praise while the loser will be excoriated — no matter how close the election turns out to be.
—Alexis Simendinger, The Hill, 5 Nov. 2024
While the two sides have excoriated each other and launched public recriminations that sound almost scripted for journalists to write about, their legal disagreement is far less dramatic.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 30 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for excoriate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for excoriate
Verb
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When that extreme trend was pointed out to Suzuki, the Cubs hitting infrastructure worked with him to look for moments to be aggressive and attack the first pitch.—
Meghan Montemurro,
Chicago Tribune,
16 Feb. 2025
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The mob attacked the sick and elderly and raped multiple women, according to the report.—
Chelsea Bailey,
CNN,
16 Feb. 2025
Verb
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The greasier the better, Chen says (but people with sensitive skin should avoid olive oil, which can be irritating).—
Matt Fuchs,
TIME,
6 Feb. 2025
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One woman on TikTok has gone viral after describing how her brother still finds ways to irritate her—even from a distance.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
Newsweek,
5 Feb. 2025
Verb
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At one point, an appalled Robinson came outside to scold her daughter.—
Rachel DeSantis,
People.com,
13 Feb. 2025
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On the other side of the FaceTime call is none other than Set It Off star Vivica Fox, who scolds Glo for sleeping in.—
Michael Saponara,
Billboard,
4 Feb. 2025
Verb
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The agreement is already being heavily criticized by New York City Council leaders, after prosecutors resigned in protest against a directive from Trump's Department of Justice to dismiss corruption charges against Adams so the mayor could assist with the Republican president's immigration agenda.—
DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE STAFF FROM WIRE REPORTS,
arkansasonline.com,
15 Feb. 2025
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Before Republicans start criticizing Democrats about their dependence on federal dollars, a quick review of the facts may be warranted.—
Jeffrey Sonnenfeld and Stephen Henriques,
TIME,
14 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Winter weather wreaks havoc across country A parade of winter storms may cause chaos across the Midwest and East this week, with two major storms expected to slam the regions with paralyzing snow and ice, including a big blast to the nation's capital.—
Fernando Cervantes Jr.,
USA TODAY,
11 Feb. 2025
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At the same time, Chinese officials slammed Western limits on AI access, and China’s DeepSeek chatbot has already triggered security concerns in the U.S.—
Thomas Adamson and Aamer Madhani,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Paddington will feel like two families are better than one, Mary will stare down the oncoming existential crisis of the empty nest, nobody will feel like the country of Peru has been insulted, the bad guys get their comeuppance and the good guys save the day.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
11 Feb. 2025
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Employees who considered taking the offer when it was first presented, changed their minds after subsequent emails seemed to insult the work of civil servants.—
William Melhado,
Sacramento Bee,
6 Feb. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near excoriate
Cite this Entry
“Excoriate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/excoriate. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.
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