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).
He was excoriated as a racist.
The candidates have publicly excoriated each other throughout the campaign.
Recent Examples on the WebTrump is vindictive and revels in excoriating his opponents and anyone perceived to be disloyal to him.—Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 5 Aug. 2024 Trump’s opponents, including the White House and the Harris campaign, excoriated Trump’s remarks questioning the de facto Democratic nominee’s racial identity.—Kevin Breuninger, CNBC, 31 July 2024 Lawmakers from both parties have, in the aftermath of the rally, excoriated the Secret Service for allowing 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks to access a rooftop in close proximity to Trump and fire multiple rounds into the rally crowd with an AR-15 rifle.—Ashley Oliver, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 22 July 2024 Several hosts, including Wallace, Scarborough, Rachel Maddow and Joy Reid, went on air in March to excoriate a decision to make former Republican National Committee chief Ronna McDaniel a contributor to NBC News.—Brian Steinberg, Variety, 16 July 2024 See all Example Sentences for excoriate
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Word History
Etymology
Middle English, from Late Latin excoriatus, past participle of excoriare, from Latin ex- + corium skin, hide — more at cuirass
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