expurgate
[ ek-sper-geyt ]
/ ˈɛk spərˌgeɪt /
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verb (used with object), ex·pur·gat·ed, ex·pur·gat·ing.
to amend by removing words, passages, etc., deemed offensive or objectionable: Most children read an expurgated version of Grimms' fairy tales.
to purge or cleanse of moral offensiveness.
OTHER WORDS FOR expurgate
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Origin of expurgate
OTHER WORDS FROM expurgate
ex·pur·ga·tion, nounex·pur·ga·tor, nounun·ex·pur·gat·ed, adjectiveDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
How to use expurgate in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for expurgate
expurgate
/ (ˈɛkspəˌɡeɪt) /
verb
(tr) to amend (a book, text, etc) by removing (obscene or offensive sections)
Derived forms of expurgate
expurgation, nounexpurgator, nounexpurgatory (ɛksˈpɜːɡətərɪ, -trɪ) or expurgatorial (ɛkˌspɜːɡəˈtɔːrɪəl), adjectiveWord Origin for expurgate
C17: from Latin expurgāre to clean out, from purgāre to purify; see purge
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Cultural definitions for expurgate
expurgate
[ (ek-spuhr-gayt) ]
To clean up, remove impurities. An expurgated edition of a book has had offensive words or descriptions changed or removed.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.