censor

1 of 2

noun

cen·​sor ˈsen(t)-sər 

1

: a person who supervises conduct and morals: such as

a

: an official who examines materials (such as publications or films) for objectionable matter

Government censors deleted all references to the protest.

b

: an official (as in time of war) who reads communications (such as letters) and deletes material considered sensitive or harmful

2

: one of two magistrates of early Rome acting as census takers, assessors, and inspectors of morals and conduct

Cato the Censor accused Africanus and his senior officers of running an army riddled with moral laxity

—Colleen McCullough

3

: a hypothetical psychic agency that represses unacceptable notions before they reach consciousness

censorial

sen-ˈsȯr-ē-əl 

adjective

censor

2 of 2

verb

censored; censoring ˈsen(t)-sə-riŋ 

ˈsen(t)s-riŋ

transitive verb

: to examine in order to suppress (see suppress sense 2) or delete anything considered objectionable

censor the news

also : to suppress or delete as objectionable

censor out indecent passages

Synonyms

Verb

• bowdlerize
• clean (up)
• expurgate
• launder
• red-pencil

Examples of censor in a Sentence

Noun

Government censors deleted all references to the protest.

Verb

The station censored her speech before broadcasting it.

His report was heavily censored.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Winners Shalt Not Take the Lord’s Name in Vain Emmy winners were only slightly devil-may-care with their language during their acceptance speeches this year, but the ABC censors had their hands right over that button the entire show. —Harrison Richlin, IndieWire, 15 Sep. 2024

Pain, it has been said, is the great censor, the eater of words. —Parul Sehgal, The New Yorker, 9 Sep. 2024

Verb

Walz asked Vance whether Trump lost the 2020 election, which his Republican opponent declined to answer directly and instead questioned whether Harris censored Americans on social media during the COVID-19 pandemic. —Kathryn Watson, CBS News, 1 Oct. 2024

The show eventually moved to a later time slot and KSL stopped censoring it. —Erin Alberty, Axios, 30 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun

borrowed from Latin cēnsor "Roman magistrate tasked with registering citizens, removing persons from the register whose conduct was found wanting, and leasing public contracts," from cēnsēre "to give as an opinion, assess, appraise, perform the duties of a censor" (going back to an Indo-European verbal base *ḱems- "announce, evaluate publicly," whence Sanskrit śaṁati "declares solemnly, praises," Avestan sənghaitī "announces, names") + -tor, agent suffix

Verb

derivative of censor entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

1526, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1882, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

censor

1 of 2 noun

cen·​sor ˈsen(t)-sər 

: an official who checks materials (as publications or movies) to take out things thought to be objectionable

censor

2 of 2 verb

censored; censoring ˈsen(t)s-(ə-)riŋ 

: to examine in order to prevent publication or take out things thought to be objectionable

also : to delete things thought to be objectionable

Medical Definition

censor

noun

cen·​sor ˈsen(t)-sər 

: a hypothetical psychic agency that represses unacceptable notions before they reach consciousness

censorial

sen-ˈsōr-ē-əl, -ˈsȯr- 

adjective

Legal Definition

censor

1 of 2 transitive verb

cen·​sor

: to examine (as a publication or film) in order to suppress or delete any contents considered objectionable

censor

2 of 2 noun

: one that censors