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to show (something written) to be no longer valid by drawing a cross over or a line through it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.
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Thomas Doherty, HollywoodReporter, 20 Apr. 2025
Thomas Doherty, HollywoodReporter, 20 Apr. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for blue-pencil
Verb
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Following his high-profile breakup from Carpenter in December 2024, Keoghan deleted his Instagram account.—
Mitchell Peters,
Billboard,
22 Mar. 2026
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If the option appears, then click Delete and Report Spam, which sends the report to Apple and deletes the message.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
22 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Those increases are often passed on to consumers in the form of higher airfares – another factor Richardson cited as a reason for canceling her trip.—
Nathan Diller,
USA Today,
23 Mar. 2026
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Officers handled more than 50,000 calls in December, January and February; the department had to extend more than 500 shifts and cancelled 1,000 vacation days.—
Ashley Grams,
CBS News,
22 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Blue-pencil.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/blue-pencil. Accessed 26 Mar. 2026.
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