censorious
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
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anticensoriousadjective
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anticensoriouslyadverb
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anticensoriousnessnoun
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censoriouslyadverb
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censoriousnessnoun
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noncensoriousadjective
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noncensoriouslyadverb
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noncensoriousnessnoun
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overcensoriousadjective
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overcensoriouslyadverb
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overcensoriousnessnoun
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uncensoriousadjective
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uncensoriouslyadverb
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uncensoriousnessnoun
Etymology
Origin of censorious
1530–40; < Latin cēnsōrius of a censor, hence, austere, moral; see censor, -tory 1
Explanation
Censorious, an adjective, describes people who are so critical, they find something wrong in everything. Do not let censorious guests come to your next dinner party! Censorious, pronounced "sen-SOAR-ee-us," comes from the Latin word censura, meaning "judgment." Someone who is censorious judges everyone and everything, ruining everyone's good time with harsh criticisms. The sky is too blue. Your dog is too friendly. The zebra has too many stripes. You get the idea. A censorious person makes others say, "So...is there anything you do like?"
Vocabulary lists containing censorious
Vocabulary Video Contest (2013) - List 1
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Into Thin Air
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Franny and Zooey
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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.
And then there are “family values,” a whole range of social issues usually related to sexual behavior and typically expressed in censorious, moralizing terms.
From Salon • Feb. 7, 2026
We are seeing a censorious instinct bubbling up in politicians alarmed by these developments.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 4, 2026
Even after her mother’s death in 2020 at 96, that censorious voice remained “embedded in my most primitive responses, in my very limbic system.”
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 17, 2025
In their TikTok video, Ben talked about how one particularly censorious editor tried to “destroy our entire side of Wikipedia” by tagging countless articles about roads and highways as non-notable topics that should be purged.
From Slate • Dec. 8, 2023
The Verdun section of Montreal was in no sense a dressy neighborhood, and I was convinced that every passer-by was giving me a second, basically censorious look.
From "Nine Stories" by J. D. Salinger
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
