| Library / English Dictionary |
BOWDLERIZE
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (verb)
Verb forms
Present simple: I / you / we / they bowdlerize ... he / she / it bowdlerizes
Past simple: bowdlerized
Past participle: bowdlerized
-ing form: bowdlerizing
Sense 1
Meaning:
Edit by omitting or modifying parts considered indelicate
Example:
bowdlerize a novel
Synonyms:
bowdlerise; bowdlerize; castrate; expurgate; shorten
Classified under:
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.
Hypernyms (to "bowdlerize" is one way to...):
abbreviate; abridge; contract; cut; foreshorten; reduce; shorten (reduce in scope while retaining essential elements)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s something
Sentence example:
They won't bowdlerize the story
Derivation:
bowdlerization (the act of deleting or modifying all passages considered to be indecent)
bowdlerization (written material that has been bowdlerized)
bowdlerizer (a person who edits a text by removing obscene or offensive words or passages)
