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View synonyms for bowdlerize

bowdlerize

[ bohd-luh-rahyz, boud- ]

verb (used with object)

, bowd·ler·ized, bowd·ler·iz·ing.
  1. to expurgate (a written work) by removing or modifying passages considered vulgar or objectionable.


bowdlerize

/ ˈbaʊdləˌraɪz /

verb

  1. tr to remove passages or words regarded as indecent from (a play, novel, etc); expurgate
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


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Derived Forms

  • ˈbowdlerˌizer, noun
  • ˈbowdlerism, noun
  • ˌbowdleriˈzation, noun
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Other Words From

  • bowdler·ism noun
  • bowdler·i·zation noun
  • bowdler·izer noun
  • un·bowdler·ized adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of bowdlerize1

1830–40; after Thomas Bowdler (1754–1825), English editor of an expurgated edition of Shakespeare
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Word History and Origins

Origin of bowdlerize1

C19: after Thomas Bowdler (1754–1825), English editor who published an expurgated edition of Shakespeare
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Example Sentences

Because, like her correspondence to him, they’re bowdlerized by government censors.

She should not be allowed to disguise and bowdlerize it to suit the unwelcome tastes she had acquired at school.

I have no wish to bowdlerize Sir Richard Steele, his ways and words.

This is called "expurgating" the book; but people who disapprove often call it to bowdlerize.

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