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.
The ruling follows France's decision last week to expel Xenia Fedorova and freeze her assets, a move she denounced as "censorship".
From Barron's ● Aug. 3, 2026
A: Beijing has implemented some censorship of the data that companies use to train models and of the output of those models.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026
At one point, Weist describes uncovering that former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani maintained a fine-art photography practice while simultaneously waging a highly public censorship battle against the Brooklyn Museum.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2026
The censorship machinery kicked in so quickly and thoroughly this time possibly because Beijing's leadership is "still not exactly sure what happened", says Manya Koetse, who runs the Eye on Digital China newsletter.
From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2026
But one of his fellow seven commissioners, T. A. M. Craven, noted that the FCC should be cautious about censorship.
From "Spooked!" by Gail Jarrow
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.
