bowdlerize
verb (used with object)
to expurgate (a written work) by removing or modifying passages considered vulgar or objectionable.
bowdlerise
-
a variation of
bowdlerize.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
What if, in order to meet customers where they were, you had to bowdlerise your writing, or give up on writing altogether and pivot to video?
From The Guardian ● Feb. 7, 2020
"I do not want to sanitise nor bowdlerise his life but it is time that we get these traits into a new and more accurate perspective."
From BBC ● Nov. 8, 2013
In The Book of Dave, I bowdlerise English to get a kind of future speak, because language changes.
From Salon ● Aug. 20, 2012
They had to bowdlerise culture because they couldn't appreciate the unadulterated thing.
From The Guardian ● Jan. 30, 2011
It was, however, subjected to some criticism and ridicule, and gave rise to the expression "bowdlerise," always used in an opprobrious sense.
From A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature by John W. (John William) Cousin
