red-pencil

verb

red-pen·​cil ˈred-ˌpen(t)-səl 

red-penciled; red-penciling; red-pencils

transitive verb

1

: censor

2

: correct, revise

Synonyms of red-pencil

• amend
• correct
• reform
• remedy

Examples of red-pencil in a Sentence

the magazine claims that every article is red-penciled by a team of fact checkers before it ever sees the light of print

a television script that had been heavily red-penciled in abject surrender to political correctness

Recent Examples on the Web

The book is a literary arrangement of sparring between D’Agata and Fingal, consisting of a draft of D’Agata’s text red-pencilled by editors and extensive correspondence between the two writers. —Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 21 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1946, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for red-pencil

• commensal
• prehensile
• utensil
• intercensal
• pencil
• stencil
• tensile