censor

verb

Definition of censornext
as in to edit
to remove objectionable parts from the producers were told that they would have to censor their movie if they wanted a PG rating

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of censor Recently, the Montgomery County, Maryland, school district made local headlines after officials required administrators to review student newspapers prior to publication and outright censor certain reports based on vague standards. — Annabelle Garland, The Atlantic, 23 July 2026 Ana Navarro and Joy Behar were both censored on The View today. — Emlyn Travis, Entertainment Weekly, 16 July 2026 The lawsuit says the sanctions, triggered by ICC war-crimes probes in Gaza, have forced groups to halt evidence-sharing, cut ties with Palestinian advocates and censor their own speech. — Eric Tucker, Los Angeles Times, 15 July 2026 In China, state media has covered the cases comprehensively, but wider discussion about the prosecutions on Chinese-language social media like Rednote has been partially censored. — ABC News, 8 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for censor
Recent Examples of Synonyms for censor
  1. edit
  2. shorten
  3. delete
  4. bowdlerize
  5. expurgate
  6. review
  7. launder
Verb
  • Since people can apply filters and use AI to edit photos of themselves, much of our modern standard of beauty is a look that can’t actually be replicated in real life.
    — Nicole Karlis, Allure, 14 Aug. 2026
  • As of Friday afternoon, Bobby Valli had edited the post to leave out the claim that his brother would retire.
    — Chris Willman, Variety, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of edit
Verb
  • Amazon's recent decision to shorten server depreciation periods underscores the risk of rapid hardware aging.
    — Robert J. Szczerba, Forbes.com, 11 Aug. 2026
  • Faster integration can shorten the path from production lines to operational inventories.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of shorten
Verb
  • According to the indictment, Tunick knowingly caused the contents of his Pixel to be deleted.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 9 Aug. 2026
  • Taalas, a Toronto startup that AMD agreed to acquire on Thursday, attacks the problem by deleting it.
    — Jon Markman, Forbes.com, 9 Aug. 2026
Definition of delete
Verb
  • Congress and the president must counter the forces that seek to diminish, exploit or bowdlerize our understanding of this terrible and confounding un-American event.
    — James Reston Jr., Star Tribune, 29 Mar. 2021
  • The mobs of students — and their enabling professors and administrators — renaming buildings and bowdlerizing the language are still products of Western civilization.
    — Jonah Goldberg, Alaska Dispatch News, 28 Aug. 2017
Definition of bowdlerize
Verb
  • The movie’s climactic punch line was repeatedly expurgated and reinstated during previews.
    — J. HOBERMAN, New York Times, 7 Oct. 2016
Definition of expurgate
Verb
  • The spending is heavily dominated by staff travel, transportation and lodging, which make up the vast majority of the top expenditures, per P-card data reviewed by the Herald after a public records request.
    — Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald, 12 Aug. 2026
  • But the ambitious project remains mired in planning and bureaucratic complications, with groundbreaking still two years off and the cost nearly tripling to more than $1 billion, documents reviewed by The Times show.
    — Jack Dolan, Los Angeles Times, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of review
Verb
  • In September of 2022, Spanish police arrested an Irishman suspected of laundering money for the Kinahan organization after raiding a property in Malaga on the Costa del Sol.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 9 Aug. 2026
  • Cartel profits are laundered through financial networks that touch American institutions.
    — Chris Shays, Hartford Courant, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of launder

Browse Nearby Words

cenotaphs
censor
censored
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Censor.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/censor. Accessed 16 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on censor

Nglish: Translation of censor for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about censor

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of zeugma

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Words of the Week - Aug. 14

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of a green cube out of place in a lineup of red spheres
Odd Word Out: Synonyms Vol. 2 Quiz Figure out which word isn't like the others.
See All