1
as in attacked
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 excoriated
Over the past two weeks, three federal judges in Orlando have ordered the immediate release of immigrants from the jail and excoriated prosecutors for arguing that a law addressing people stopped at the border allows ICE to indefinitely lock up people already living in the country.
—
Cristóbal Reyes, The Orlando Sentinel, 3 Feb. 2026
In a letter to the state senator, obtained by The Star, the groups excoriated Hall’s nomination on four counts.
—Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 29 Jan. 2026
The lower house in the Dutch parliament approved a plan to scrap bonus restrictions for most financial sector staff, a major step in softening a rule that has long been excoriated by the industry.
—Sarah Jacob, Bloomberg, 27 Jan. 2026
However, in 2024 State Auditor Grant Parks excoriated Newsom’s own California Interagency Council on Homelessness for failing to effectively monitor and coordinate homelessness programs — even though the state had spent more than $20 billion during Newsom’s governorship.
—Dan Walters, Mercury News, 16 Jan. 2026
Non-journalists excoriated the media’s reaction.
—David Aldridge, New York Times, 14 Jan. 2026
Pentwater Capital, a large WBD shareholder and one of the top merger-arbitrage shops, publicly excoriated WBD’s refusal to play ball with Paramount on CNBC Wednesday and said the firm would block the deal with Netflix.
—Rohan Goswami, semafor.com, 8 Jan. 2026
And the organization was, of course, excoriated by both Democrats and Republicans for promoting its Project 2025 book of policy proposals.
—Emily Brooks, The Hill, 11 Nov. 2025
How has Fawlty Towers, one of the most offbeat, provincial, inappropriate, and heavily excoriated shows of all time, remained popular for 50 years?
—Jonathan Margolis, Air Mail, 20 Sep. 2025
Cristóbal Reyes, The Orlando Sentinel, 3 Feb. 2026
In a letter to the state senator, obtained by The Star, the groups excoriated Hall’s nomination on four counts.
—Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 29 Jan. 2026
The lower house in the Dutch parliament approved a plan to scrap bonus restrictions for most financial sector staff, a major step in softening a rule that has long been excoriated by the industry.
—Sarah Jacob, Bloomberg, 27 Jan. 2026
However, in 2024 State Auditor Grant Parks excoriated Newsom’s own California Interagency Council on Homelessness for failing to effectively monitor and coordinate homelessness programs — even though the state had spent more than $20 billion during Newsom’s governorship.
—Dan Walters, Mercury News, 16 Jan. 2026
Non-journalists excoriated the media’s reaction.
—David Aldridge, New York Times, 14 Jan. 2026
Pentwater Capital, a large WBD shareholder and one of the top merger-arbitrage shops, publicly excoriated WBD’s refusal to play ball with Paramount on CNBC Wednesday and said the firm would block the deal with Netflix.
—Rohan Goswami, semafor.com, 8 Jan. 2026
And the organization was, of course, excoriated by both Democrats and Republicans for promoting its Project 2025 book of policy proposals.
—Emily Brooks, The Hill, 11 Nov. 2025
How has Fawlty Towers, one of the most offbeat, provincial, inappropriate, and heavily excoriated shows of all time, remained popular for 50 years?
—Jonathan Margolis, Air Mail, 20 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for excoriated
Verb
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The book's Japanese translator was murdered, and others associated with it were attacked.—
Anderson Cooper,
CBS News,
9 Feb. 2026
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Because as Bam Adebayo attacked a second-quarter offensive rebound with seemingly nothing but open air space toward the rim, teammate Kel’el Ware had similar thoughts of contesting that same carom of that Davion Mitchell errant attempt.—
Ira Winderman,
Sun Sentinel,
9 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
For a long time your political cartoons published in the editorial pages have irritated me.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
13 Jan. 2026
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The song, which reclaims a derogatory term for Venezuelan female migrants, was interpreted as defiant and irritated the Venezuelan president, then facing widespread reports of electoral fraud.—
Leonor C. Suárez,
Rolling Stone,
4 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The source of the photos, who requested anonymity, slammed Nanos for attending the game while the search continues.—
Peter D'Abrosca , Alexandra Koch,
FOXNews.com,
8 Feb. 2026
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On the court, White jumped in anticipation as Peterson slammed the ball into the hoop.—
Shreyas Laddha,
Kansas City Star,
8 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Pavel Mintyukov, defenseman, B Olen Zellweger, defenseman, B Mintyukov was scratched for a stint and Zellweger has seen his power-play usage halved year-over-year.—
Andrew Knoll,
Oc Register,
7 Feb. 2026
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Over time, plastic containers can become scratched, stained, or damaged, and that starts to pose a food safety risk, explains Dragomir Markovic, food scientist and founder of Wise Intake.—
Taylor Tobin,
Southern Living,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
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As the Sentinel’s Cristobal Reyes has reported, federal judges based in Orlando have scolded prosecutors multiple times in recent weeks for detaining people who should have been set free, with one judge memorably comparing the current actions of ICE to those of a third-world country.—
Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board,
The Orlando Sentinel,
8 Feb. 2026
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No fan should be told how to follow their team, nor be scolded for feeling conflicted, especially as Spurs supporters have been put in this unenviable bind by the failings of their club — rather than the other way around.—
Dan Kilpatrick,
New York Times,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Public health experts also criticized the president for making unfounded claims about highly politicized health issues.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
9 Feb. 2026
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Valieva’s coach, Eteri Tutberidze, is one of the most prominent figures in a coaching culture that has long been criticized for prioritizing thinness, disordered eating, and early peak performance over athletes’ well-being.—
Jasmine Wynn,
Time,
9 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Excoriated.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/excoriated. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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