excoriate

[ ik-skawr-ee-eyt, -skohr- ]

verb (used with object)

, ex·co·ri·at·ed, ex·co·ri·at·ing.

1. to denounce or berate severely; flay verbally:

   He was excoriated for his mistakes.

2. to strip off or remove the skin from:

   Her palms were excoriated by the hard labor of shoveling.

excoriate

/ ɪkˈskɔːrɪˌeɪt /

verb

1. to strip (the skin) from (a person or animal); flay
2. med to lose (a superficial area of skin), as by scratching, the application of chemicals, etc
3. to denounce vehemently; censure severely

Derived Forms

• exˌcoriˈation, noun

Other Words From

• unex·cori·ated adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of excoriate¹

Late Middle English, from Late Latin excoriātus (past participle of excoriāre “to strip, skin or bark”). See ex- ¹, corium, -ate ¹; excoriate def 2 was first recorded in 1375–1425, and excoriate def 1 was first recorded in 1880–85.

Word History and Origins

Origin of excoriate¹

C15: from Late Latin excoriāre to strip, flay, from Latin corium skin, hide

Example Sentences

Hence Trump’s cynical strategy to slip him into position through a recess appointment, which would insulate him from a full background investigation and an excoriating examination by Democrats.

From Los Angeles Times

Post columnist Dana Milbank excoriated the owner for the decision, which he said “gave the appearance of cowering before a wannabe dictator to protect Bezos’s business interests.”

From Los Angeles Times

“I think it’s time we put a felon in the White House. Trump 2024 baby,” he said in an Instagram video during which he excoriated what he sees as California’s soft-on-crime policies.

From Los Angeles Times

In a telephone interview Thursday, he excoriated the Israeli military for bombing roads linking Marjayoun to other areas in the south.

From Los Angeles Times

At a campaign rally in Wisconsin on Wednesday, an indignant Vance excoriated the media.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• berate
• castigate
• chastise
• condemn
• lambaste
• lash
• rebuke
• reproach
• revile
• scold
• tear into
• upbraid
• vilify

More About Excoriate

What does excoriate mean?

Excoriate means to harshly scold, criticize, denounce, or express intense disapproval of someone or something.

Excoriating someone often involves the severest possible tone and words.

This sense of excoriate is based on its original, literal meaning: to strip off or remove the skin from an animal or person. The skin on your hands might be excoriated from hard yard work, for example.

The word flay can be used as a synonym for both the figurative and literal sense of excoriate.

In a medical context, excoriate means to scratch, scrape, or otherwise cause skin to be rubbed off or removed.

The act or an instance of excoriating is excoriation.

Example: She publicly excoriated her rival for his role in the scandal, criticizing him in the most extreme terms.

Where does excoriate come from?

The first records of excoriate come from around 1400. It comes from the Latin verb excoriāre, meaning “to strip off skin or bark,” from the Latin corium, meaning “skin” or “hide.” The prefix ex- means “without,” and the suffix -ate is used to form verbs. The figurative sense of excoriate didn’t enter widespread use until around the 1880s.

Today, when people use the word excoriate, they’re most likely talking about harshly scolding someone, and not about literally ripping someone’s skin off. But this is the underlying sense of its figurative use—a scolding so severe that it’s compared to getting your skin stripped off. There are many other words that mean about the same thing as excoriate, including flay, berate, castigate, chastise, and upbraid. Less formal synonyms include the terms rip into, tear into, and lay into.

Did you know ... ?

What are some other forms related to excoriate?

• unexcoriated (adjective)
• excoriation (noun)

What are some synonyms for excoriate?

• flay
• berate
• castigate
• chastise
• upbraid
• rip into
• tear into
• lay into

What are some words that share a root or word element with excoriate? 

 

• corium

 

What are some words that often get used in discussing excoriate?

 

• criticize
• punish
• harsh
• severe
• extreme
• publicly
• skin

How is excoriate used in real life?

The figurative sense of excoriate is much more commonly used than its literal sense.

Sean Payton should get a free pass from the league office to excoriate NFL officiating. The NFL has gone out of their way to earn it.

— Daryl Ruiter (@RuiterWrongFAN) September 15, 2019

Top aides in Health and Human Services excoriated government doctors for warning Americans about the new coronavirus https://t.co/yFejJtVdkR

— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) September 18, 2020

Ok, I am going to get excoriated for this but, I just don't get the craze for "Frozen". https://t.co/smQKL2Afoi

— Aradia Zenobia (@Oxyzentricity) September 18, 2020

 

 

Try using excoriate!

Which of the following terms is NOT a synonym of excoriate?

A. tear into
B. berate
C. encourage
D. castigate