censor

American  

[sen-ser] / ˈsɛn sər /

noun

• censors
  plural

1. an official who examines books, plays, news reports, motion pictures, radio and television programs, letters, cablegrams, etc., for the purpose of suppressing parts deemed objectionable on moral, political, military, or other grounds.

2. any person who supervises the manners or morality of others.

3. an adverse critic; faultfinder.

4. (in the ancient Roman republic) either of two officials who kept the register or census of the citizens, awarded public contracts, and supervised manners and morals.

5. (in early Freudian dream theory) the force that represses ideas, impulses, and feelings, and prevents them from entering consciousness in their original, undisguised forms.

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verb (used with object)

• censors,
  present (3rd person singular)
• censored,
  past participle,  past
• censoring
  present participle

1. to examine and act upon as a censor.

2. to delete (a word or passage of text) in one's capacity as a censor.

censor British  

/ ˈsɛnsə /

noun

1. a person authorized to examine publications, theatrical presentations, films, letters, etc, in order to suppress in whole or part those considered obscene, politically unacceptable, etc

2. any person who controls or suppresses the behaviour of others, usually on moral grounds

3. (in republican Rome) either of two senior magistrates elected to keep the list of citizens up to date, control aspects of public finance, and supervise public morals

4. psychoanal the postulated factor responsible for regulating the translation of ideas and desires from the unconscious to the conscious mind See also superego

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verb

1. to ban or cut portions of (a publication, film, letter, etc)

2. to act as a censor of (behaviour, etc)

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• overcensor
  verb (used with object)
• precensor
  verb (used with object)
• recensor
  verb (used with object)
• anticensorial
  adjective
• censorable
  adjective
• censorial
  adjective
• censorian
  adjective
• noncensored
  adjective
• uncensorable
  adjective
• uncensored
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• censors
  plural

Participles

• censoring
  present
• censored
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• censor
  simple
• censors
  simple
• have censored
  perfect
• has censored
  perfect
• am censoring
  progressive
• are censoring
  progressive
• is censoring
  progressive
• have been censoring
  perfect progressive
• has been censoring
  perfect progressive

Past

• censored
  simple
• had censored
  perfect
• was censoring
  progressive
• were censoring
  progressive
• had been censoring
  perfect progressive

Future

• will censor
  simple
• will have censored
  perfect
• will be censoring
  progressive
• will have been censoring
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of censor

First recorded in 1525–35; from Latin cēnsor, from cēns(ēre) “to give as one's opinion, recommend, assess” + -tor -tor; -sor instead of expected -stor by analogy with tōnsor “barber,” and similarly derived nouns ( see tonsorial)

Explanation

A censor takes out things that are objectionable or inappropriate, like the censors at the TV networks bleeping out all the bad words in a show. To put it simply, a censor judges. Originating in the 1530’s, a censor was originally a Roman magistrate who took censuses and oversaw public morals. Censors today are hired by TV stations, publishers and the government to examine books, films and other material and strip out or flag all the amoral, offensive or otherwise bad stuff. Thankfully, in the U.S. free speech usually wins out over censorship.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

censor censors censored censoring

The agency cannot lawfully act as a viewpoint censor.

From Salon ● Sep. 1, 2026

Baser told BBC Scotland News she was told she did not need to "censor" her set by festival staff, and apologised for "any upset".

From BBC ● Jul. 3, 2026

David Loy, the legal director for the nonpartisan First Amendment Coalition, said the measure would censor the free speech of all citizens, not just those who defamed or threatened immigrant aid workers.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 4, 2026

Cue Mr. Carr, his wannabe censor at the FCC.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 18, 2026

Congress did not pass Senator Herring’s bill or any others that would censor radio programs.

From "Spooked!" by Gail Jarrow

Some of its obfuscation tools, designed to bypass censors in restricted countries, have not performed well in highly restrictive environments like China and Russia.

From Salon ● Mar. 21, 2026

China's youth are facing an unemployment rate that sits at more than 15% and burning out from a gruelling work culture, yet sharing too much of their pessimism online could alert internet censors.

From BBC ● Feb. 14, 2026

In the decades since, films challenging social norms or scrutinising institutions have more often faced resistance from the censors.

From BBC ● Feb. 13, 2026

But tens of thousands of Iranians possess the satellite terminals, analysts and activists say, using them to maintain contact with like-minded citizens and share information outside the control of government firewalls and censors.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 12, 2026

Aware that wartime censors could open her mail, she was discreet and even stilted at first.

From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield

It has also been difficult to find the video on China's heavily censored internet.

From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026

“Who has been censored here? Name one journalist whom we have censored? There isn’t one.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026

The Canadian Instagram page of Heinz changed its profile picture to a badly taped-over version of its logo, and posted a picture of its ketchup with the logo censored.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 27, 2026

“While data is imperfect and internet use remains heavily censored; we think the reports of restoration of connectivity implies the Iran regime expects a conclusion of the conflict is imminent,” Flight says.

From MarketWatch ● May 29, 2026

The letters we wrote were censored as well; they were often as cut up as the letters we received.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

The lawmakers said the measure was "not about censoring a service or banning a social network; it is about no longer brandishing a threat that nobody believes in".

From Barron's ● Sep. 3, 2026

Bypassing censorship Some jurisdictions are more restrictive than others, with many heavily censoring Internet access.

From Salon ● Jun. 2, 2026

We are explicitly prohibited from censoring broadcasters, but this is censorship.

From Slate ● Jun. 2, 2026

The FCC says on its website that the "First Amendment and the Communications Act expressly prohibit the Commission from censoring broadcast matter".

From BBC ● Mar. 15, 2026

But Lyddie, who had never had any ambition to be thought a lady, did find herself asking, What would Amelia think?—and censoring her own behavior from time to time accordingly.

From "Lyddie" by Katherine Paterson

Related Words

• abridge
• black out
• blacklist
• delete
• edit
• excise
• restrict
• sanitize
• suppress
• withhold