1
as in attacking
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 excoriating
National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya raised these points when excoriating siblings studies on social media in September.
—
O. Rose Broderick, STAT, 16 Jan. 2026
The beat resumed, the volume its usual excoriating self, Shields’ guitar reprogrammed to give a hint of body-moving swing.
—Jazz Monroe, Pitchfork, 28 Nov. 2025
Prescott’s excoriating memo was the catalyst for the resignations of Director General Tim Davie and news chief Deborah Turness.
—Max Goldbart, Deadline, 24 Nov. 2025
The Lynx lost that game, and then, with Collier in a boot on the bench and her coach suspended for excoriating the referees in her defense, came up short in the decisive Game Four, too.
—Louisa Thomas, New Yorker, 5 Oct. 2025
There’s no question Newsom — who had spent months excoriating refiners for gouging consumers on gasoline prices, even calling a special legislative session to impose new regulations — changed his tune after two refineries announced plans to shut down.
—Dan Walters, Mercury News, 30 Sep. 2025
But a federal judge threw out the lawsuit in March 2024, excoriating the platform’s case as plainly punitive rather than about protecting the platform’s security and legal rights.
—Hadas Gold, CNN Money, 29 Sep. 2025
The level of anger was quickly evident in state media broadcasts - which analysts say are often a measure of official Saudi viewpoints - with television news reports personally excoriating Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
—Pesha Magid, Reuters, 14 Feb. 2025
O. Rose Broderick, STAT, 16 Jan. 2026
The beat resumed, the volume its usual excoriating self, Shields’ guitar reprogrammed to give a hint of body-moving swing.
—Jazz Monroe, Pitchfork, 28 Nov. 2025
Prescott’s excoriating memo was the catalyst for the resignations of Director General Tim Davie and news chief Deborah Turness.
—Max Goldbart, Deadline, 24 Nov. 2025
The Lynx lost that game, and then, with Collier in a boot on the bench and her coach suspended for excoriating the referees in her defense, came up short in the decisive Game Four, too.
—Louisa Thomas, New Yorker, 5 Oct. 2025
There’s no question Newsom — who had spent months excoriating refiners for gouging consumers on gasoline prices, even calling a special legislative session to impose new regulations — changed his tune after two refineries announced plans to shut down.
—Dan Walters, Mercury News, 30 Sep. 2025
But a federal judge threw out the lawsuit in March 2024, excoriating the platform’s case as plainly punitive rather than about protecting the platform’s security and legal rights.
—Hadas Gold, CNN Money, 29 Sep. 2025
The level of anger was quickly evident in state media broadcasts - which analysts say are often a measure of official Saudi viewpoints - with television news reports personally excoriating Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
—Pesha Magid, Reuters, 14 Feb. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for excoriating
Verb
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The strategy marks a shift toward attacking cartels’ financial systems as law enforcement pressure mounts on traditional drug routes.—
Alanna Durkin Richer,
Los Angeles Times,
5 Feb. 2026
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Dan Ndoye is capable of playing in a central attacking role and Morgan Gibbs-White has looked handy playing in a more advanced role.—
Paul Taylor,
New York Times,
4 Feb. 2026
Verb
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A lot of anti-aging skincare contains ingredients like retinol that can be drying and irritating, but Cetaphil has a possible solution.—
Lauren Taylor,
Southern Living,
30 Jan. 2026
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Cold outdoor air plus active heat indoors can pull moisture from both the scalp and hair shaft, which can be irritating.—
Helen Carefoot,
Flow Space,
29 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The xAI-SpaceX merger is still fresh, AI fears have been slamming software stocks, and Moltbook—a social network for personal AI agents—blew up the Internet.—
Allie Garfinkle,
Fortune,
6 Feb. 2026
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Heathcliff acts like a whiny little baby throughout this film, constantly throwing tantrums, running away, and slamming doors.—
Cazzie David,
Vogue,
6 Feb. 2026
Verb
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That's only scratching the surface of the symbolism and spirit of revolt that Bad Bunny brought to the Super Bowl.—
Kathleen Newman-Bremang,
Refinery29,
9 Feb. 2026
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Mock suggests using gentle cleaning tools to avoid scratching the flooring.—
Daley Quinn,
Southern Living,
8 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Crucially, the film avoids the trap of scolding younger generations or romanticizing the past.—
Beandrea July,
IndieWire,
28 Jan. 2026
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Sanders, by now a perennial candidate, perfected his craggy, scolding, mitten-waving style.—
Jill Lepore,
New Yorker,
19 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Some Walmart shoppers could have already seen egg prices drop at their local stores, according to USA TODAY's shopping cart tracker, powered by Bright Data, a data-scraping company.—
Betty Lin-Fisher,
USA Today,
13 Feb. 2026
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There are 617 McDonald's restaurants in Ohio, according to the web scraping tool ScrapeHero.—
Chad Murphy,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
13 Feb. 2026
Verb
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In multiple phone calls from jail, Nathan Gingles discussed the dependency court case, asking his friend in Texas to pass along information and criticizing Mary’s sister, who was fighting for custody against Schuler.—
Shira Moolten,
Sun Sentinel,
13 Feb. 2026
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Both companies have also gotten more vocal in public in recent weeks, with executives openly criticizing each other's businesses.—
Samantha Subin,
CNBC,
13 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Excoriating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/excoriating. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026.
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