This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
bowdlerize
[ bohd-luh-rahyz, boud- ]
/ ˈboʊd ləˌraɪz, ˈbaʊd- /
Save This Word!
This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
verb (used with object), bowd·ler·ized, bowd·ler·iz·ing.
to expurgate (a written work) by removing or modifying passages considered vulgar or objectionable.
QUIZ
CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?
There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?
Question 1 of 7
Which sentence is correct?
Also especially British, bowd·ler·ise .
Origin of bowdlerize
1830–40; after Thomas Bowdler (1754–1825), English editor of an expurgated edition of Shakespeare
OTHER WORDS FROM bowdlerize
bowd·ler·ism, nounbowd·ler·i·za·tion, nounbowd·ler·iz·er, nounun·bowd·ler·ized, adjectiveWords nearby bowdlerize
Bow bells, bow collector, bow compass, Bowditch, bow divider, bowdlerize, bowdlerizing, bowed, bowel, Bowell, bowel movement
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use bowdlerize in a sentence
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.
Joanna Godden|Sheila Kaye-SmithI have no wish to bowdlerize Sir Richard Steele, his ways and words.
Essays|Alice MeynellThis is called "expurgating" the book; but people who disapprove often call it to bowdlerize.
Stories That Words Tell Us|Elizabeth O'Neill
British Dictionary definitions for bowdlerize
bowdlerize
bowdlerise
/ (ˈbaʊdləˌraɪz) /
verb
(tr) to remove passages or words regarded as indecent from (a play, novel, etc); expurgate
Derived forms of bowdlerize
bowdlerization or bowdlerisation, nounbowdlerizer or bowdleriser, nounbowdlerism, nounWord Origin for bowdlerize
C19: after Thomas Bowdler (1754–1825), English editor who published an expurgated edition of Shakespeare
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