excoriate
Americanverb (used with object)
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to denounce or berate severely; flay verbally.
He was excoriated for his mistakes.
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to strip off or remove the skin from.
Her palms were excoriated by the hard labor of shoveling.
verb
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to strip (the skin) from (a person or animal); flay
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med to lose (a superficial area of skin), as by scratching, the application of chemicals, etc
-
to denounce vehemently; censure severely
Usage
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.
Other Word Forms
- excoriation noun
- unexcoriated adjective
Etymology
Origin of excoriate
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.
Explanation
When it comes to “telling someone off,” excoriate is reserved for the most severe cases. So, before you excoriate your little sister for borrowing your favorite jacket without permission, consider whether she truly deserves such harsh treatment. If you excoriate someone, you let that person know that you really, really disagree with them. This verb goes beyond mere criticism; it implies anger, a harsh and insulting tone, and even a scathing attack. Synonyms of excoriate include denounce, decry, and condemn. In a medical sense, excoriate means “to tear skin off by chafing.” A bad rug burn can excoriate your skin. If someone excoriates you verbally, it might make you feel like you’ve been physically excoriated.
Vocabulary lists containing excoriate
100 SAT Words Beginning with "E"
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This Week In Words: January 4–10, 2020
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This Week in Words: January 5 - 11, 2019
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“But Daddy I Love Him” is the album’s finest cut: a garment-rending folk-rock melodrama in which Swift seems to excoriate her audience for its disapproval of her and Healy’s affair.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 19, 2024
It’s easy to criticize the media for overemphasizing someone’s prison exposure, and easier still to excoriate prosecutors for sweetheart deals.
From Slate • Oct. 16, 2023
Contributing to a debate in parliament last month MP Sam George, a prominent critic of the project, quoted the Gospel of Luke in the New Testament to excoriate the government.
From BBC • Feb. 18, 2023
And as much as he likes to excoriate the “fake news,” he is drawn irresistibly to the spotlight.
From New York Times • Sep. 10, 2020
“We need to take care of this. It’s too far gone. We have to excoriate the skin and replace your G-tube to purge the infection.”
From "Five Feet Apart" by Rachael Lippincott
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
