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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Recent Examples of excoriate
During a fiery congressional hearing last month, Democrats excoriated Bondi over haphazard redactions in the Epstein files that exposed intimate details about victims and included nude photographs.
—
Arkansas Online, 5 Mar. 2026
During a fiery congressional hearing last month, Democrats excoriated Bondi over haphazard redactions in the Epstein files that exposed intimate details about victims and included nude photographs.
—ABC News, 4 Mar. 2026
Since the Whitney Biennial was founded in 1932, art-world denizens and casual observers alike have relished the opportunity both to champion and excoriate the slates of artists put forward.
—Julie Belcove, Robb Report, 28 Feb. 2026
Craig Aaron, the co-CEO of Free Press, a consumer advocacy group, excoriated the potential WBD-Paramount merger, warning of dire consequences for the news media.
—Daniel Arkin, NBC news, 27 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for excoriate
Arkansas Online, 5 Mar. 2026
During a fiery congressional hearing last month, Democrats excoriated Bondi over haphazard redactions in the Epstein files that exposed intimate details about victims and included nude photographs.
—ABC News, 4 Mar. 2026
Since the Whitney Biennial was founded in 1932, art-world denizens and casual observers alike have relished the opportunity both to champion and excoriate the slates of artists put forward.
—Julie Belcove, Robb Report, 28 Feb. 2026
Craig Aaron, the co-CEO of Free Press, a consumer advocacy group, excoriated the potential WBD-Paramount merger, warning of dire consequences for the news media.
—Daniel Arkin, NBC news, 27 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for excoriate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for excoriate
Verb
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At that point, Cupe allegedly became agitated and attacked the bystander with a box cutter, slashing him across the chest.—
Staff Report,
Hartford Courant,
2 Apr. 2026
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Trump has also threatened to attack Iran’s Kharg Island oil export hub.—
Will Weissert,
Chicago Tribune,
2 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Even minimal exposure to artificial lights irritated his burns, and recovery took months.—
Natalie Krebs,
Outdoor Life,
26 Mar. 2026
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Many people have come out of the woodwork and jumped on the bandwagon, which irritated me.—
Ethan Shanfeld,
Variety,
26 Mar. 2026
Verb
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But the stunt goes south as Wooley turns out to be an unabashed bigot who embarrasses the show and gets scolded by the host.—
Erik Pedersen,
Deadline,
31 Mar. 2026
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This cross-partisan skit is refreshing and the only people who might hate it are Cuomo supporters and maybe some woke scolds.—
Andrew Stanton,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Mar. 2026
Verb
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On this postcard-perfect corner of Canada’s northeastern province of Newfoundland and Labrador that’s slammed by wind and waves, cod-fishing communities hold on to their distinctive settler history.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
2 Apr. 2026
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On Sunday, the president of the American Federation of Government Employees slammed Congress for leaving Washington for the Easter/Passover break without reaching an agreement on funding DHS.—
Corky Siemaszko,
NBC news,
1 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Two advisers to Qatar told me that Global Risk had also conducted background checks and written reports on people linked to campaigns criticizing Qatar; corporate-intelligence firms often provide such open-source research.—
David D. Kirkpatrick,
New Yorker,
30 Mar. 2026
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However, in a pair of letters to the editor published in the Journal of Pediatrics, doctors criticized the article as hyped.—
David Hilzenrath,
USA Today,
29 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Cease insulting allies and encourage mediation by Pakistan and Turkey.—
Arthur I. Cyr,
Chicago Tribune,
31 Mar. 2026
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The characters don’t know, and the real-life writing staff, Fogelman seems to suggest, won’t insult our intelligence by pretending to.—
Steven Zeitchik,
HollywoodReporter,
30 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Excoriate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/excoriate. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.
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