censorship

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noun cen·sor·ship \ ˈsen(t)-sər-ˌship \

Definition of censorship

1 a :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

See censorship defined for English-language learners

See censorship defined for kids

Recent Examples of censorship from the Web

On a number of conservative blogs, both son and mother Cortina instantly became a symbol of the left's hypocritical tolerance for censorship and violence as long as they're used to confront conservative, Trumpian ideologies.

— cam wolf, GQ, "These Schools Banned Trump Gear—Unless They Didn’t," 22 Aug. 2017
And giving the board president free rein as to what will and will not be discussed at future meetings is censorship, no doubt.

— jennie key, Cincinnati.com, "Colerain Township trustees debate limiting public participation at township meetings," 22 Aug. 2017
Fresh crackdowns, censorship and war are again rejuvenating their ranks.

— The Economist, "To escape repression, critics are leaving the Gulf," 20 July 2017
According to the complaint, HRDC has attempted to resolve the censorship issues multiple times, but has received no response.

— andrew henderson, The Courier-Journal, "Human rights organization sues Dept. of Corrections over book censorship," 20 July 2017
After a fresh round of news reports about the censorship on Monday, including on the front page of The Financial Times, Chinese internet users took to social media sites to test the ban.

— javier c. hernÁndez, New York Times, "China Censors Winnie-the-Pooh on Social Media," 17 July 2017
Thanks to tight censorship, most Chinese had no idea Liu had even won the Nobel.

— john timpane, Philly.com, "What the miserable death of Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo can teach us about Fake News," 14 July 2017
But big corporate media does face enough regulatory matters that even a single exemplary case would suffice to induce large-scale self-censorship.

— eric levitz, Daily Intelligencer, "White House Warns CNN That Critical Coverage Could Cost Time Warner Its Merger," 6 July 2017
But human rights experts and the companies affected warn that the law risks privatizing the process of censorship and could have a chilling effect on free speech.

— frank jordans, Jewish Journal, "Germany passes law against online hate speech," 3 July 2017

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

¹censor + -ship

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: circa 1591

See Words from the same year

Other Government and Politics Terms

agent provocateur, agitprop, autarky, cabal, egalitarianism, federalism, hegemony, plenipotentiary, popular sovereignty, socialism

CENSORSHIP Defined for English Language Learners

censorship

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noun

Definition of censorship for English Language Learners

: the system or practice of censoring books, movies, letters, etc.

CENSORSHIP Defined for Kids

censorship

play

noun cen·sor·ship \ ˈsen-sər-ˌship \

Definition of censorship for Students

:the system or practice of examining writings or movies and taking out things considered offensive or immoral

Medical Dictionary

censorship

play

noun cen·sor·ship \ ˈsen(t)-sər-ˌship \

medical Definition of censorship

:exclusion from consciousness by the psychic censor

Law Dictionary

censorship

noun cen·sor·ship

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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censorship

Definition of censorship

From the M-W Editors

Recent Examples of censorship from the Web

Origin and Etymology of censorship

Other Government and Politics Terms

CENSORSHIP Defined for English Language Learners

censorship

Definition of censorship for English Language Learners

CENSORSHIP Defined for Kids

censorship

Definition of censorship for Students

Medical Dictionary

censorship

medical Definition of censorship

Law Dictionary

censorship

legal Definition of censorship

Learn More about censorship

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