expurgate

[ ek-sper-geyt ]

/ ˈɛk spərˌgeɪt /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR expurgate ON THESAURUS.COM

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.

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

expulsion, expulsive, expulsive pain, expunction, expunge, expurgate, expurgation, expurgatorial, expurgatory, expwy, exquisite

Origin of expurgate

1615–25; < Latin expurgātus, past participle of expurgāre to clean out. See ex-¹, purge, -ate¹

SYNONYMS FOR expurgate

1 delete, excise, censor, purge, bowdlerize.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR expurgate ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formsex·pur·ga·tion, nounex·pur·ga·tor, nounun·ex·pur·gat·ed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for expurgation

If, on the other hand, expurgation is freely employed, the result is a kind of emasculation.
Studies in Literature and History|Sir Alfred Comyn Lyall
In the very act of expurgation it lives; for what is taken from one page is placed on another.
Thirty Years' View (Vol. I of 2)|Thomas Hart Benton
It does not appear to me that this theory of expurgation, all important as it is, can be easily understood.
The World of Homer|Andrew Lang
Plato's own method of exegesis consists quite simply of expurgation.
The Unpopular Review Vol. I|Various

When books were delivered to the tribunals for expurgation, the habitual delays must have been exasperating.
A History of the Inquisition of Spain; vol. 3|Henry Charles Lea

British Dictionary definitions for expurgation

expurgate

/ (ˈɛkspəˌɡeɪt) /

verb

(tr) to amend (a book, text, etc) by removing (obscene or offensive sections)

Derived Formsexpurgation, nounexpurgator, nounexpurgatory (ɛksˈpɜːɡətərɪ, -trɪ) or expurgatorial (ɛkˌspɜːɡəˈtɔːrɪəl), adjective

Word 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

Word Origin and History for expurgation (1 of 2)

expurgation

early 15c., "a cleansing from impurity," from Latin expurgationem (nominative expurgatio), noun of action from past participle stem of expurgare "to cleanse out, purge, purify," from ex- "out" (see ex-) + purgare "to purge" (see purge). Sense of "remove objectionable passages from a literary work" first recorded in English 1610s.

Word Origin and History for expurgation (1 of 2)

expurgate

1620s, back-formation from expurgation or from Latin expurgatus, past participle of expurgare "to cleanse out, purge, purify" (see expurgation). Related: Expurgated; expurgating. The earlier verb was simply expurge (late 15c.), from Middle French expurger.

Culture definitions for expurgation

expurgate

[ (ek-spuhr-gayt) ]

To clean up, remove impurities. An expurgated edition of a book has had offensive words or descriptions changed or removed.