censure
Americannoun
-
strong or vehement expression of disapproval.
The newspapers were unanimous in their censure of the tax proposal.
- Synonyms:
- animadversion, stricture, reprimand, rebuke, reprehension, reproach, reproof, condemnation
- Antonyms:
- praise
-
an official reprimand, as by a legislative body of one of its members.
- Antonyms:
- praise
verb (used with object)
-
censures,
present (3rd person singular)
-
censured,
past participle, past
-
censuring
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
censures,
present (3rd person singular)
-
censured,
past participle, past
-
censuring
present participle
noun
verb
Usage
What does censure mean? Censure is passionate or intense criticism, as in Many countries were united in their censure of the nation responsible for the nuclear disaster. Censure can also refer to an official condemnation or reprimand, especially by a legislative body to one of its members, as in The lawyer’s terrible conduct earned him a censure from the judge. As a verb, censure means to intensely and harshly criticize something, as in The governor was censured by the media for his incredibly poor handling of the state’s hurricane response. Censure could be confused with the similarly spelled words censer, censor, and sensor. A censer is a container that holds burning incense. A censor is a person who looks for unacceptable or immoral material in media or creative works. A sensor is a device that sends a signal in reaction to environmental conditions. Example: The musician faced intense censure from other artists after stealing melodies and their career never recovered from the backlash.
Synonym Usage
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
censurernoun
-
supercensurenoun
-
miscensureverb
-
precensureverb (used with object)
-
censurelessadjective
-
procensureadjective
-
uncensuredadjective
-
uncensuringadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
censuresimple
-
censuressimple
-
have censuredperfect
-
has censuredperfect
-
am censuringprogressive
-
are censuringprogressive
-
is censuringprogressive
-
have been censuringperfect progressive
-
has been censuringperfect progressive
Past
-
censuredsimple
-
had censuredperfect
-
was censuringprogressive
-
were censuringprogressive
-
had been censuringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of censure
1350–1400; Middle English < Latin cēnsūra censor's office, assessment, equivalent to cēns ( us ) past participle of cēnsēre ( see censor) + -ūra -ure
Explanation
Censure is a noun referring to very strong criticism; the verb means to criticize very strongly. If you take your dad's car without telling him, you can expect him to censure you severely, and maybe even ground you as well. The noun and verb are most closely associated with official expressions of disapproval, as when Congress censures a senator. The noun is from Latin cēnsūra, "censorship," from cēnsor, "an ancient Roman censor." The job of a Roman censor was to take the census and to supervise public morals and behavior. Our English word censor — which means to suppress speech or other forms of expression — is from this Latin word.
Vocabulary lists containing censure
Grade 11, List 1
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Animal Farm
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Othello
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
Mr. Buruma resists glib post hoc censure, acknowledging that German civilians “lived in constant fear of their own government.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 13, 2026
Noem was the public face of that disapproval, strutting forward with arrogance in the face of public censure, a veritable clown show of ineptitude.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 6, 2026
Fine has not appeared fearful of censure or any loss of his committee assignments.
From Salon ● Feb. 18, 2026
"We will not censure the government," party leader Olivier Faure told radio broadcaster France Inter.
From Barron's ● Jan. 20, 2026
Still wary of censure, I further related to him my entry into Mr. Jonathan Gitney’s house and my theft of clothing.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson
These censures are deemed necessary, notwithstanding the fact that he continues to deny the allegations against him.
From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2025
It still demands collusion, censures dissent, confuses the exertion of power with the protest against it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 10, 2023
Gorsuch said that Congress has been censuring members since the 19th century and that “elected bodies in this country issued no fewer than 20 censures in August 2020 alone.”
From Washington Post ● Mar. 24, 2022
The article censures an organization whose young clients only achieved 65% of their goals instead of the planned 80%.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 23, 2021
I cannot approve of the reviewer’s censures upon my manner of treating the doctrine of predestination.
From Calvinistic Controversy Embracing a Sermon on Predestination and Election and Several Numbers, Formally Published in the Christian Advocate and Journal. by Wilbur Fisk
In December, McCarthy was censured by the Senate and died three years later.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
The City Council formally censured Lopez in 2022, barred him from committee appointments and limited his interactions with city staff outside of meetings.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 20, 2025
It’s infrequent that a judge is publicly or privately censured.
From Slate ● Dec. 11, 2025
McCarthyism is remembered so well because it was finally extinguished by the mainstream: Congress censured McCarthy, and Eisenhower criticized him.
From Salon ● Oct. 14, 2025
So far from being decorated, he had been censured for showing cowardice in the battle.
From "Animal Farm: A Fairy Story" by George Orwell
Critics are censuring Mr. Warsh for turning his back on those goals.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
In the USC Academic Senate’s vote, 21 members favored censuring the president and provost, seven opposed, and six abstained.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 8, 2024
But make no mistake about its significance: Parliament censuring a man who was prime minister as recently as September in the strongest possible terms.
From BBC ● Jun. 19, 2023
North Carolina State Representative Mark Brody, who supports censuring Sen. Tillis, says it is better to address differences directly.
From Reuters ● Mar. 3, 2023
“I would wish not to be hasty in censuring any one; but I always speak what I think.”
From "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen
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.
