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censor definition

cen·sor (sen′sər)

noun

  1. one of two magistrates in ancient Rome appointed to take the census and, later, to supervise public morals
  2. an official with the power to examine publications, movies, television programs, etc. and to remove or prohibit anything considered obscene, libelous, politically objectionable, etc.
  3. an official in time of war who reads publications, mail, etc. to remove information that might be useful to the enemy
  4. in earlier psychoanalytic theory, and still popularly, a part of the unconscious that serves as the agent of censorship

Etymology: L < censere, to tax, value, judge < IE base *ens, speak solemnly, announce > Sans ṡáṁsa, praise, prayer of praise

transitive verb

to subject (a book, writer, etc.) to censorship

Related Forms:

  • censorial cen·so′·rial (sen sôr′ē əl) adjective

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Alternate definitions:

law censor definition - legal

medical censor definition - medical

censor Synonyms

censor

n.

inspector, judge, expurgator, guardian of morals; see examiner.


censor

v.

control, restrict, strike out, forbid, suppress, ban, withhold, enforce censorship, control the flow of news, inspect, oversee, abridge, cut, edit, edit out, examine, expurgate, bowdlerize, review, criticize, exert pressure, conceal, refuse transmission, prevent publication, kill, blacklist, throttle the press, debase freedom of speech, bleep, bleep out, blue-pencil, black out, stifle, stifle free expression; see also restrain 1.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

censor Usage Examples

Object

  • observation: Note that the the survival distribution is a truncated Weibull for censored observations as discussed in the mice example.

Converse of object

  • pass: Many authors deliberately avoid certain types of references to allow their material to get passed the official censor.

Converse of subject

  • ban: The movie was screened without a certificate in June at the Irish Film Center, which has previously shown films banned by the censor.

Adjective modifier

  • would-be: It is, alas, the case that few would-be censors are capable of intelligently reading or viewing that which they wish to censor.

Modifying Another Word

  • heavily: The Guardian column, heavily censored, was aimed to debunk sex myths.

Noun used with modifier

  • film: He was also senior film censor at the British Board of Film Classification.

Possessives

  • seal: The censor's seal of Muramatsu occurs on Acts III, IV, VI, IX, X, and XI.

Preposition: of

  • inet: Posted at 11:57 am on 23 May 2006 by Philosopher-in-waiting RE: RE: the censor of the inet There is something to gain.

Preposition: from

  • paper: It will of course be censored from all large circulation papers and magazines.
censor usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

censor quotes

Yes, they say, go and write whatever story you want, but don't use whatever language is necessary† By implication those in authority ask the writer to censor and suppressheror his ownwork.Theydemand it.If you don't comply then your work isn't produced.

-Kelman,James

But they can't censor the gleam in my eye.

-Laughton, Charles

It is not difficult to censor foreign news. What is difficult today is to censor one's own thoughts,ö To sit by and see the blind man On the sightless horse, riding into the bottomless abyss.

-Walesa, Lech

censor quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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"censor." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 4 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/censor>

APA Style

censor. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 4th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/censor

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