excoriated

verb

past tense of excoriate
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in irritated
to make sore by continued rubbing the manacles had badly excoriated the prisoner's wrists

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of excoriated Nearly five years ago, the district attorney of Onondaga County, William Fitzpatrick, stood up in court and excoriated his county’s decision decades earlier to prosecute Anthony Broadwater for the rape of author Alice Sebold. — Joaquin Sapien, ProPublica, 17 July 2026 Sheryl Crow excoriated Donald Trump‘s White House birthday bash, which included a UFC fight, in a post to her Instagram story on Monday. — Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 16 June 2026 Jim Trusty, the lawyer for Rozier, excoriated the league after a hearing Wednesday that served as a status update on Rozier’s case, as well as the other three defendants who remain indicted alongside him. — Mike Vorkunov, New York Times, 11 June 2026 In Israel, the drawdown of hostilities places additional pressure on Netanyahu, whose political base has repeatedly excoriated him as not doing enough to combat Hezbollah while being too weak to stand up to Trump. — Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 8 June 2026 The fight boiled over on the Senate floor when a pair of Republican senators excoriated the court over its unanimous decision. — Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 4 June 2026 The judge excoriated Iwamasa before imposing the sentence. — City News Service, Daily News, 27 May 2026 Trump constantly excoriated Massie and endorsed his primary opponent Ed Gallrein and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth even campaigned with Gallrein on Monday. — Hannah Demissie, ABC News, 19 May 2026 Kiffin was excoriated by fans and media for abandoning his team, but neither Chambliss nor his family begrudge the coach for leaving. — Bomani Jones, Vanity Fair, 29 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for excoriated
  1. attacked
  2. irritated
  3. slammed
  4. scratched
  5. scolded
  6. criticized
Verb
  • For example, ExploitGym, a cybersecurity benchmark that was at the center of the July incident in which OpenAI’s models went rogue and attacked the company Hugging Face, was created in 2026.
    — Emily Forlini, Fortune, 5 Sep. 2026
  • In the wake of Thursday’s ruling, a chorus of Missouri Republicans have attacked the court over its decision.
    — Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of attacked
Verb
  • The comments irritated Ilicali, who took to social media in response.
    — Philip Buckingham, New York Times, 23 Aug. 2026
  • But the idea has irritated California’s billionaire class, and some have left the state in protest or threatened to do so.
    — Catherine Odom, Miami Herald, 29 June 2026
Definition of irritated
Verb
  • In January, just days after the Bears’ magical 2025 dream run ended with a playoff loss, Poles was thrilled when Johnson slammed the back cover on that season and ordered everyone to start working for 2026.
    — Dan Wiederer, New York Times, 3 Sep. 2026
  • The helicopter was on a training mission and hovering just feet above the grass next to the runway when the plane slammed into it.
    — Pete Muntean, CNN Money, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of slammed
Verb
  • Based on a photo shared by the fan, the star appeared to have been scratched.
    — Christina Dugan Ramirez, FOXNews.com, 2 Sep. 2026
  • Dolly Parton’s Hollywood Walk of Fame star was scratched days after the country singer died.
    — Marina Watts, Entertainment Weekly, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of scratched
Verb
  • In fact, during testing, the handheld triggered nostalgic memories of playing Final Fantasy Legend and Mario Land 2 on long car rides to my grandparents' house, but without the eye strain and being scolded for playing in the dark as the sun set.
    — Will Greenwald, PC Magazine, 22 Aug. 2026
  • For over a year, the White House has scolded and threatened the Smithsonian.
    — Kelsey Ables, The Atlantic, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of scolded
Verb
  • The move came days after Stephens publicly criticized EMCC and Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference leadership over changes to the league’s football schedule and playoff format.
    — Ira Gorawara, New York Times, 1 Sep. 2026
  • Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also defended the decision to increase bond purchases earlier last month, after investor Stanley Druckenmiller criticized the move.
    — Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of criticized

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Cite this Entry

“Excoriated.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/excoriated. Accessed 5 Sep. 2026.

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