excoriate
Americanverb (used with object)
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excoriates,
present (3rd person singular)
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excoriated,
past participle, past
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excoriating
present participle
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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
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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
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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excoriatesimple
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excoriatessimple
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have excoriatedperfect
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has excoriatedperfect
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am excoriatingprogressive
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are excoriatingprogressive
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is excoriatingprogressive
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have been excoriatingperfect progressive
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has been excoriatingperfect progressive
Past
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excoriatedsimple
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had excoriatedperfect
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was excoriatingprogressive
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were excoriatingprogressive
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had been excoriatingperfect progressive
Future
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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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.
See Examples For:
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
On the one hand, they excoriate Black folk, especially young people, when they opt out of the political process by not voting or joining conventional avenues for participation.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 16, 2021
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
But the outpouring of sympathy from the British people, including the “political class” Mr. Swaim excoriates, was immediate and sympathetic.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
These omissions feel particularly glaring in light of how Aly excoriates the scholars of the era for viewing the islanders as history-less primitives who simply “died out” after contact with the modern world.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 8, 2023
Allison Hussey of Pitchfork writes, "Lynn's most enduring songs are frank and ferocious, where she excoriates double standards and sexist assumptions with a smile."
From Salon ● Oct. 7, 2022
China, which has been racing to implement one of the world’s toughest data privacy regimes, frequently excoriates companies for mishandling data.
From New York Times ● Jul. 14, 2022
The milky juice exudes from incisions made in the branches, and is so acrid that it excoriates the hand when applied to it.
From Catalogue of Economic Plants in the Collection of the U. S. Department of Agriculture by William Saunders
“Moneyball” excoriated the bunt, demonstrating in great detail that trading a precious out for an extra 90 feet on the base paths reduces scoring.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
Now, Warsh will find himself on the inside again, working with the people he’s excoriated.
From MarketWatch ● May 13, 2026
District Judge Nancy Brasel excoriated the government for policies and practices that “all but extinguish” a detainee’s right to counsel.
From Slate ● Feb. 17, 2026
In case anyone missed the viral video that has made him something of a folk hero to many in D.C. and around the country, Dunn loudly excoriated a small group of U.S.
From Salon ● Aug. 21, 2025
A few scientists had challenged Meggers’s ideas; Roosevelt excoriated them from top to bottom.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
Arday, who was appointed in a blaze of publicity in 2023 as the youngest-ever black professor to Cambridge University, was found dead on Friday, aged 41, after weeks of excoriating media reports.
From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026
That is what makes Hawaiʻi Supreme Court Justice Todd Eddins’ excoriating assessment of the term so valuable.
From Slate ● Jul. 17, 2026
“Rebel English Academy” reprises the excoriating humor of that debut, but only erratically.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 20, 2026
But the judge gave Baca three years, excoriating him for abusing the public trust.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2025
Sarai uncovered her eyes and found Great Ellen restored to human form, the excoriating hawk gaze replaced by a piercing but compassionate human one.
From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor
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.
