noun
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a policy or programme of censoring
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the act or system of censoring
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psychoanal the activity of the mind in regulating impulses, etc, from the unconscious so that they are modified before reaching the conscious mind
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of censorship
Explanation
Censorship blocks something from being read, heard, or seen. If you've ever heard the sound of bleeping when someone is speaking on television, that's censorship. To "censor" is to review something and to choose to remove or hide parts of it that are considered unacceptable. Censorship is the name for the process or idea of keeping things like obscene word or graphic images from an audience. There is also such a thing as self-censorship, which is when you refrain from saying certain things — or possibly re-wording them — depending on who is listening.
Vocabulary lists containing censorship
List 5
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Unit 2: Pivotal Words and Phrases
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World War I
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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.
Assessing opposition to the war is challenging due to censorship.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
The censorship also comes in the form of parroting.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
Public shows of dissent have been suppressed by wartime censorship laws and can trigger hefty fines or long prison sentences.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
That moment was removed from the VHS copy of the 1980s classic he’d rented because of strict censorship in Mexico at the time.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026
In Protestant countries censorship was less rigorous, although there were still limits as to what could be published.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
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.
