expunge

verb

ex·​punge ik-ˈspənj How to pronounce expunge (audio)
expunged; expunging

transitive verb

1
: to strike out, obliterate, or mark for deletion
2
: to efface completely : destroy
3
: to eliminate from one's consciousness
expunge a memory
expunger noun

Did you know?

In medieval and Renaissance manuscripts, a series of dots was used to mark mistakes or to label material that should be deleted from a text, and those deletion dots can help you remember the history of expunge. They were known as puncta delentia. The puncta part of the name derives from the Latin verb pungere, which can be translated as "to prick or sting" (and you can imagine that a scribe may have felt stung when their mistakes were so punctuated in a manuscript). Pungere is also an ancestor of expunge, as well as a parent of other dotted, pointed, or stinging terms such as punctuate, compunction, poignant, puncture, and pungent.

Examples of expunge in a Sentence

time and the weather have expunged any evidence that a thriving community once existed here
Recent Examples on the Web Upon completion, the musician's record will be expunged, Penn Live reported. Jade Gomez, People.com, 14 Oct. 2024 The Court of Appeal rejected this, on the grounds that Evans's evidence was at times contentious, but not so tenuous as to need expunging. The Week Uk, theweek, 28 July 2024 By the end of 2022 Ferrari’s felony record was legally expunged. Brandon Kochkodin, Forbes, 8 Oct. 2024 These bills aren’t some bizarre push to allow prisoners to refuse to do any chores but an effort to finally expunge the last vestiges of de jure involuntary servitude and slavery from our system. Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, 16 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for expunge 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'expunge.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Latin expungere to mark for deletion by dots, from ex- + pungere to prick — more at pungent

First Known Use

1602, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of expunge was in 1602

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Dictionary Entries Near expunge

Cite this Entry

“Expunge.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/expunge. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

expunge

verb
ex·​punge ik-ˈspənj How to pronounce expunge (audio)
expunged; expunging
: to blot or rub out : erase
expunger noun

Legal Definition

expunge

transitive verb
ex·​punge ik-ˈspənj How to pronounce expunge (audio)
expunged; expunging
: to cancel out or destroy completely
expunge the court records of an acquitted defendant
expungement noun

More from Merriam-Webster on expunge

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