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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
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use bowdlerize in a sentence

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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