Definition of censorship
1a : the institution, system, or practice of censoring They oppose government censorship.b : the actions or practices of censors; especially : censorial control exercised repressively censorship that has … permitted a very limited dispersion of facts — Philip Wylie
2 : the office, power, or term of a Roman censor
3 : exclusion from consciousness by the psychic censor
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Recent Examples of censorship from the Web
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That has followed nearly three decades of propaganda and censorship by the Communist Party aimed at suppressing and rewriting history.
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Coverage of free speech fights in the U.S. casts the left as illiberal antagonists and lets the right off the hook for its own, much more serious history of censorship.
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The museum shows how a call for censorship resulted in a boom in journalism, with reporters covering the violence and political unrest of the day.
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Proponents of the song have accused some broadcasters of censorship for not playing the song, including the BBC.
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There are cases that look like outright censorship.
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Medina had seen the response to the art work as part of a disturbing pattern in which art-engaged audiences called for the censorship of unsettling ideas.
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That’s why the continued success of the service’s chat rooms should be seen not as proof of the sordidness of human nature, but as encouraging evidence that the Internet will triumph over censorship.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'censorship'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of censorship
Other Government and Politics Terms
CENSORSHIP Defined for English Language Learners
censorship
playDefinition of censorship for English Language Learners
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: the system or practice of censoring books, movies, letters, etc.
CENSORSHIP Defined for Kids
censorship
playDefinition of censorship for Students
: the system or practice of examining writings or movies and taking out things considered offensive or immoral
Medical Dictionary
Law Dictionary
censorship
Legal Definition of censorship
: the institution, system, or practice of censoring — compare freedom of speech, prior restraint
Learn More about censorship
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See words that rhyme with censorship Spanish Central: Translation of censorship Nglish: Translation of censorship for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of censorship for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about censorship
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