redaction

noun

re·​dac·​tion ri-ˈdak-shən 

1

: an act or instance of redacting something

2

: a work that has been redacted : edition, version

redactional

ri-ˈdak-sh(ə-)nəl 

adjective

Did you know?

Here's a quiz for all you etymology buffs. Can you pick the words from the following list that come from the same Latin root?

A. redaction B. prodigal C. agent D. essay
E. navigate F. ambiguous

If you guessed all of them, you are right. Now, for bonus points, name the Latin root that they all have in common. If you knew that it is the verb agere, meaning to "to drive, lead, act, or do," you get an A+. Redaction is from the Latin verb redigere ("to bring back" or "to reduce"), which was formed by adding the prefix red- (meaning "back") to agere. Some other agere offspring include act, agenda, cogent, litigate, chasten, agile, and transact.

Examples of redaction in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

And of the documents that have been released, there are too many redactions on them, and even the members of Congress are seeing documents that already had blanked out, redactions from the FBI from March. —Nik Popli, Time, 28 Feb. 2026

The batch of thousands of images was pulled for review and is being uploaded with necessary redactions on a rolling basis. —Daniel Ruetenik, CBS News, 27 Feb. 2026

If files are temporarily pulled for victim redactions or to redact Personally Identifiable Information, then those documents are promptly restored online and are publicly available. —Dan Mangan, CNBC, 24 Feb. 2026

The Epstein Transparency Act, the bill Congress passed late last year, required all documents be released and allowed the redaction of identifying information for the victims. —Sarah D. Wire, USA Today, 24 Feb. 2026

Word History

Etymology

French rédaction, from Late Latin redaction-, redactio act of reducing, compressing, from Latin redigere to bring back, reduce, from re-, red- re- + agere to lead — more at agent

First Known Use

1785, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for redaction

• abstraction
• attraction
• compaction
• contraction
• detraction
• diffraction
• distraction
• exaction
• extraction
• impaction
• inaction
• infraction

Podcast

Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox!