Standard Lemma guide

excoriate

adj · verb · 6 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • US: /ɪkˈskɔɹ.iˌeɪt/
  • US: /ɪkˈskoʊɹ.iˌeɪt/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: EH0 K S K AO1 R IY0 EY2 T Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Excoriated.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: obsolete

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

verb

Meaning 2

to remove the skin and/or fur of, to flay, to skin

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: excarnate

Antonyms: none provided

3

verb

Meaning 3

To wear off the skin of; to chafe.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: abrade, chafe, flay

Antonyms: none provided

4

verb

Meaning 4

To strongly condemn or criticize.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: figuratively, transitive

Examples

  • The teacher continued to excoriate the student after his academic issues.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: denounce, disparage, reprobate, tear a strip off, criticize, criticise

Antonyms: none provided

5

verb

Meaning 5

express strong disapproval of

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • We condemn the racism in South Africa
  • These ideas were reprobated

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: condemn, reprobate, decry, objurgate

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: denounce

6

verb

Meaning 6

tear or wear off the skin or make sore by abrading

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • This leash chafes the dog's neck

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: chafe

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: abrade, corrade, abrase, rub down, rub off

History

Etymology

First attested in the first part of the 15th century, in Middle English; inherited from Middle English *excoriaten (only attested in its past participle), borrowed from Late Latin excoriātus perfect passive participle of excoriō (“to take the skin or hide off, flay, skin”), from ex- (“out off, from”) + corium (“hide, skin”) + -ō. Regular participial usage of the adjective up until Early Modern English, later archaic.

Across languages

Translations

68 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Armenian: կաշին քերթել (kašin kʻertʻel) — to wear off the skin of
  • Bulgarian: одирам (odiram) — to wear off the skin of
  • Bulgarian: обелвам (obelvam) — to wear off the skin of
  • Catalan: excoriar — to wear off the skin of
  • Chinese Mandarin: 擦破皮膚 /擦破皮肤 (cā pò pífū) — to wear off the skin of
  • Czech: sedřít — to wear off the skin of
  • Czech: stáhnout — to wear off the skin of
  • Dutch: schrammen — to wear off the skin of
  • Finnish: hiertää — to wear off the skin of
  • French: excorier — to wear off the skin of
  • Galician: excoriar — to wear off the skin of
  • German: abschürfen — to wear off the skin of
  • German: abscheuern — to wear off the skin of
  • German: wund reiben — to wear off the skin of
  • Hungarian: horzsol — to wear off the skin of
  • Hungarian: felhorzsol — to wear off the skin of
  • Hungarian: feldörzsöl — to wear off the skin of
  • Hungarian: kidörzsöl — to wear off the skin of
  • Hungarian: felsebez — to wear off the skin of
  • Hungarian: lehorzsol — to wear off the skin of
  • Italian: escoriare — to wear off the skin of
  • Latin: excoriō — to wear off the skin of
  • Macedonian: лупи (lupi) — to wear off the skin of
  • Macedonian: дере (dere) — to wear off the skin of
  • Norwegian Bokmål: hudflette — to wear off the skin of
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: hudflette — to wear off the skin of
  • Portuguese: escoriar — to wear off the skin of
  • Quechua: iqhay — to wear off the skin of
  • Russian: сса́живать (ssáživatʹ) — to wear off the skin of
  • Russian: сдира́ть ко́жу (sdirátʹ kóžu) — to wear off the skin of
  • Scottish Gaelic: rùisg — to wear off the skin of
  • Spanish: excoriar — to wear off the skin of
  • Welsh: treulio — to wear off the skin of
  • Welsh: rhwbio — to wear off the skin of
  • Welsh: rhwto — to wear off the skin of
  • Catalan: condemnar — to strongly denounce or censure
  • Catalan: censurar — to strongly denounce or censure
  • Catalan: reprovar — to strongly denounce or censure
  • Chinese Mandarin: 苛責 /苛责 (kēzé) — to strongly denounce or censure
  • Chinese Mandarin: 痛斥 (tòngchì) — to strongly denounce or censure
  • Chinese Mandarin: 叱責 /叱责 (chìzé) — to strongly denounce or censure
  • Czech: ztrhat — to strongly denounce or censure
  • Danish: fordømme — to strongly denounce or censure
  • Danish: hudflette — to strongly denounce or censure
  • Finnish: haukkua pataluhaksi — to strongly denounce or censure
  • Finnish: ripittää — to strongly denounce or censure
  • Finnish: sättiä — to strongly denounce or censure
  • French: fustiger — to strongly denounce or censure
  • German: scharf verurteilen — to strongly denounce or censure
  • German: vernichtend kritisieren — to strongly denounce or censure
  • German: mit vernichtender Kritik überziehen — to strongly denounce or censure
  • German: kein gutes Haar lassen an — to strongly denounce or censure
  • Hungarian: ostoroz — to strongly denounce or censure
  • Hungarian: élesen bírál — to strongly denounce or censure
  • Hungarian: lehord — to strongly denounce or censure
  • Hungarian: ledorongol — to strongly denounce or censure
  • Hungarian: lesújtó / megsemmisítő kritikával illet — to strongly denounce or censure
  • Latin: excoriō — to strongly denounce or censure
  • Macedonian: осудува (osuduva) — to strongly denounce or censure
  • Māori: whakakinokino — to strongly denounce or censure
  • Māori: whakatapitapi — to strongly denounce or censure
  • Norwegian: hudflette — to strongly denounce or censure
  • Russian: разноси́ть (raznosítʹ) — to strongly denounce or censure
  • Russian: поноси́ть (ponosítʹ) — to strongly denounce or censure
  • Russian: громи́ть (gromítʹ) — to strongly denounce or censure
  • Spanish: fustigar — to strongly denounce or censure
  • Welsh: fflangellu — to strongly denounce or censure
  • Welsh: llachio — to strongly denounce or censure