Library / English Dictionary

EXPURGATE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (verb) 

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 "expurgate" 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 expurgate the story

Derivation:

expurgation (the deletion of objectionable parts from a literary work)

expurgator (a person who edits a text by removing obscene or offensive words or passages)

Credits