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bowdlerize

[ bohd-luh-rahyz, boud- ]
/ ˈboʊd ləˌraɪz, ˈbaʊd- /
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See synonyms for: bowdlerize / bowdlerization on Thesaurus.com

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.

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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, adjective

Words nearby bowdlerize

bow collector, bow compass, Bowditch, Bowditch's law, bow divider, bowdlerize, bowdlerizing, bowed, bowel, bowel bypass, bowel bypass syndrome
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

Words related to bowdlerize

expurgate, edit, redact

How to use bowdlerize in a sentence

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

    Joanna Godden|Sheila Kaye-Smith

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

    Essays|Alice Meynell

  • This 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, noun

Word 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
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