bowdlerize
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
Other Word Forms
- bowdlerism noun
- bowdlerization noun
- bowdlerizer noun
- unbowdlerized adjective
Etymology
Origin of bowdlerize
1830–40; after Thomas Bowdler (1754–1825), English editor of an expurgated edition of Shakespeare
Explanation
To bowdlerize means to edit offensive parts out of something. If the hero in an R-rated movie adapted for TV exclaims, “Oh shoot fudge darn!” but his lips seem to be saying something else, that movie has been bowdlerized. The word bowdlerized comes from the name of Dr. T. Bowdler, who decided to publish an edition of Shakespeare without sexual references or double-entendres (which is when a word has two meanings, one of them cheeky). Mr. Bowdler thought he was performing a great service for humanity, but generally if we call something bowdlerized, we’re implying that it was edited in a prudish way.
Vocabulary lists containing bowdlerize
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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.
Apparently, to bowdlerize Coco Chanel, elegance really has been refusal.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 18, 2018
To bowdlerize Benjamin Franklin, in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death, taxes, and Arsenal finishing in the top four.
From The Guardian • Apr. 26, 2017
The rush to bowdlerize what Biden had said turned a glancing tap of the bruise into a grinding fist.
From Slate • May 9, 2012
Censorship is so repugnant to most moviemakers they would rather have Mondo Freudo shown in a kindergarten than let a censor bowdlerize Ulysses.
From Time Magazine Archive
This is called "expurgating" the book; but people who disapprove often call it to bowdlerize.
From Stories That Words Tell Us by O'Neill, Elizabeth (Elizabeth Speakman)
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.
