as in to delete
to show (something written) to be no longer valid by drawing a cross over or a line through it
military censors blue-penciled any remarks that could possibly be deemed critical
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Recent Examples of blue-pencil
Before getting sunk by a turgid love story — the kind of cinematic dead zone Thalberg would have blue-penciled in the screenplay stage — The Last Tycoon provides a good sense of what a producer actually does.
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Thomas Doherty, HollywoodReporter, 20 Apr. 2025
Thomas Doherty, HollywoodReporter, 20 Apr. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for blue-pencil
Verb
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The station has since deleted social media videos that mentioned the ransom demand and removed the number from its online article.—
Joseph Wilkinson,
New York Daily News,
8 Feb. 2026
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The president posts, and 12 hours later, deletes an overtly racist video of Barack and Michelle Obama.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
8 Feb. 2026
Verb
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To avoid this, cancel and sign in to YouTube on your computer.—
Nicole Acevedo,
NBC news,
8 Feb. 2026
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China retaliated by canceling flights, restricting imports of Japanese seafood and ramping up military patrols, among other measures.—
Yumi Asada,
CNN Money,
8 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Blue-pencil.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/blue-pencil. Accessed 13 Feb. 2026.
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