as in to delete
to show (something written) to be no longer valid by drawing a cross over or a line through it
military censors blue-penciled any remarks that could possibly be deemed critical
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Recent Examples of blue-pencil
Before getting sunk by a turgid love story — the kind of cinematic dead zone Thalberg would have blue-penciled in the screenplay stage — The Last Tycoon provides a good sense of what a producer actually does.
—
Thomas Doherty, HollywoodReporter, 20 Apr. 2025
Thomas Doherty, HollywoodReporter, 20 Apr. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for blue-pencil
Verb
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The Windows-maker has generated a raft of headlines this time around by confirming its new default and that users should be deleting passwords from their accounts.—
Zak Doffman,
Forbes.com,
4 May 2025
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This bill proposes to delete the requirement that the insurance policy name the HOA as an additionally named insured.—
Kelly G. Richardson,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
2 May 2025
Verb
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Critical research trials have already been canceled midstream.—
Karen Weintraub,
USA Today,
9 May 2025
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The Trump administration is facing another legal challenge over its immigration policies, after it was reported Temporary Protected Status (TPS) would be cancelled for thousands of Afghans and Cameroonians.—
Dan Gooding,
MSNBC Newsweek,
9 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Blue-pencil.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/blue-pencil. Accessed 11 May. 2025.
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