to excoriate
9
9.8
- verb
- /ɪkˈskɔːriˌeɪt/
- Literature
:
criticar duramente
- "I am going to tell the truth, even though I might be excoriated for doing so."
- excoriated governments
She's the latest Karen and just excoriates this woman for her racism.
- She's the latest Karen and just excoriates this woman for her racism.
- And, you know, I've got some, you know, respect from even those whom I excoriate day in and day out.
Examples
-
Puzder was excoriated by workers' advocates for preferring robots to workers.
Academic text (2018) -
One Presbyterian clergyman excoriated her views as "etherealized animalism."
Academic text (2003) -
The "conservatives" are going to excoriate you for doing anything, everything, or nothing.
Blog text (27) -
The 2% that Obama loves to excoriate already pay almost 50% of all federal income taxes.
Blog text (4) -
And, you know, I've got some, you know, respect from even those whom I excoriate day in and day out.
-
As election day approaches, our nominee will excoriate his party's base for not standing with him.
Blog text (33) -
If they do not utter the words "hate crime," they are excoriated by the victim's group for bias and insensitivity.
Academic text (1993) -
The upper-middle-class professionals whose politics she excoriates are increasingly central to the Democratic Party's fortunes.
Academic text (2003) -
I was roundly excoriated by the pompous immunologists and geneticists there.
Academic text (2001) -
The critics mercilessly excoriate the film for its lack of originality and poor acting.
Synonyms
298
4.0
To strongly criticize someone or something publicly
115
6.8
Publicly criticize someone or something strongly
71
5.6
Suddenly say angry things about someone by speaking or writing
61
5.3
To strongly criticize someone in public
49
4.6
To criticize someone strongly and unfairly in public
37
8.1
To scold someone very strongly for something they did
36
7.2
Scold someone angrily and severely
32
8.0
To criticize someone or something very harshly, often in public
31
7.7
To say in public that something is bad or wrong
26
6.9
To tell someone firmly that you do not approve of their actions
23
8.2
To say angry, insulting things about someone or something
15
7.3
To severely criticize someone or something
14
8.8
To criticize or punish someone very harshly
12
8.2
To criticize someone very strongly and angrily
11
7.8
To send angry, insulting messages to someone online
7
9.3
To criticize someone publicly to make them feel ashamed
4
7.9
Scold someone very strongly for a mistake
3
9.5
Say bad things about someone in public to show others what they did
3
8.8
To scold someone strongly for something they did wrong
2
9.9
To speak or write strongly against something
1
9.0
To speak or write very angrily against something to show strong criticism
1
8.0
To criticize someone or something very strongly in public
1
8.1
To criticize someone or something very harshly
1
6.7
To criticize someone or something strongly in public
1
9.9
Angrily criticize someone or something
1
9.9
To strongly hate and say someone or something is very bad
1
9.9
To scold someone strongly for doing something wrong
1
8.6
To scold someone very strongly for a mistake
Attack someone with strong words in public
To criticize someone angrily using harsh words
To say bad things about someone in public to make them feel ashamed
To criticize harshly in public or in writing
To say strongly that someone or something is wrong
Antonyms
How Harsh
1
8.0
- Literature
9
9.8
- Formal
115
6.8
- Formal
26
6.9
701
3.3
Surface Forms
Morphology
excoriate = ex + cori + ate
This sense is a figurative extension of the literal meaning (strip or flay), so the morphological pieces give a clue to severity, but the figurative shift is not fully predictable for learners unfamiliar with the literal sense or the combining form.
Etymology
Excoriate comes from Latin ex- 'out' and corium 'skin', where it once meant 'to strip the skin off', and a helpful way to remember the meaning 'to criticize very harshly' is to imagine words that 'peel away' a person's reputation like skin.