cen·sor
ˈsen(t)-sər 
1
: a person who supervises conduct and morals: such as
a
: an official who examines materials (such as publications or films) for objectionable matter
Government censors deleted all references to the protest.
b
: an official (as in time of war) who reads communications (such as letters) and deletes material considered sensitive or harmful
2
: one of two magistrates of early Rome acting as census takers, assessors, and inspectors of morals and conduct
Cato the Censor accused Africanus and his senior officers of running an army riddled with moral laxity—
Colleen McCullough
Colleen McCullough3
: a hypothetical psychic agency that represses unacceptable notions before they reach consciousness
censored; censoring
ˈsen(t)-sə-riŋ
ˈsen(t)s-riŋ
: to examine in order to suppress (see suppress sense 2) or delete anything considered objectionable
censor the news
also
: to suppress or delete as objectionable
censor out indecent passages
Synonyms
Examples of censor in a Sentence
Noun
Government censors deleted all references to the protest.
Verb
The station censored her speech before broadcasting it.
His report was heavily censored.
Recent Examples on the WebTamara Audi, New York Times, 4 Apr. 2024
Military censors did not review our words or photos.
—Lorenzo Tugnoli, Washington Post, 1 Apr. 2024
From offices in minor cities, censors answer to a vast chain of command leading up to the central authorities in Beijing.
—Chang Che, The New Yorker, 26 Mar. 2024
Comics rely on censors to prevent them from going over the line.
—Chang Che, The New Yorker, 26 Mar. 2024
His followers send him photos and videos from Chinese social media before they are wiped by censors, and Li reposts them on X, offering a rare and unflinching glimpse into aspects of Chinese life that Beijing doesn’t want the world – or its own citizens – to see.
—Nectar Gan, CNN, 18 Mar. 2024
Letters from outside usually take days, sometimes weeks, to pass through censors.
—Francesca Ebel, Washington Post, 23 Feb. 2024
There were also thornier questions of adaptation, particularly, what would get by China’s censors.
—Claire Fu, New York Times, 16 Feb. 2024
Its priests are the censors, the propagandists, the secret police.
—Brooke Singman, Fox News, 1 Feb. 2024
Jay Caspian Kang, The New Yorker, 5 Apr. 2024
There were not really books around at all, and in a dictatorship everything was censored.
—Lizz Schumer, Peoplemag, 2 Apr. 2024
The movie was a trending topic on the Internet (censored though the Internet is).
—Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 1 Apr. 2024
At the opposite end of the spectrum, Grok did not censor any answers, giving detailed responses to our most sensitive prompts.
—Maxwell Zeff and Thomas Germain / Gizmodo, Quartz, 29 Mar. 2024
The app gained a cult-like following from conservatives and the far-right at a time when former President Donald Trump and his administration were going after the big Silicon Valley tech platforms Facebook and Instagram for allegedly censoring conservative speech online.
—Makena Kelly, WIRED, 20 Mar. 2024
The Chinese Communist Party has long censored social media willy-nilly, including blocking Facebook, YouTube, X and more.
—Gabriel Levin, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Mar. 2024
Meanwhile, lawmakers in at least 13 states this year alone have introduced legislation that could disrupt libraries’ services and censor their materials, according to an NBC News tally.
—Daniel Arkin, NBC News, 14 Mar. 2024
Some of his speeches have been removed from YouTube and other platforms over medical misinformation claims, while his supporters claim he’s being censored for speaking the truth.
—Jenavieve Hatch, Sacramento Bee, 26 Mar. 2024
Noun
The immediate need was for translations of letters the detainees were writing home, so that censors could black out sensitive information and also possibly glean intelligence.
—Tamara Audi, New York Times, 4 Apr. 2024
Military censors did not review our words or photos.
—Lorenzo Tugnoli, Washington Post, 1 Apr. 2024
From offices in minor cities, censors answer to a vast chain of command leading up to the central authorities in Beijing.
—Chang Che, The New Yorker, 26 Mar. 2024
Comics rely on censors to prevent them from going over the line.
—Chang Che, The New Yorker, 26 Mar. 2024
His followers send him photos and videos from Chinese social media before they are wiped by censors, and Li reposts them on X, offering a rare and unflinching glimpse into aspects of Chinese life that Beijing doesn’t want the world – or its own citizens – to see.
—Nectar Gan, CNN, 18 Mar. 2024
Letters from outside usually take days, sometimes weeks, to pass through censors.
—Francesca Ebel, Washington Post, 23 Feb. 2024
There were also thornier questions of adaptation, particularly, what would get by China’s censors.
—Claire Fu, New York Times, 16 Feb. 2024
Its priests are the censors, the propagandists, the secret police.
—Brooke Singman, Fox News, 1 Feb. 2024
Verb
If Psaki is correct in her assessment that the primary role of the journalist is to tell the truth for the sake of democracy, MSNBC and other news outlets shouldn’t effectively censor Trumpworld.
—Jay Caspian Kang, The New Yorker, 5 Apr. 2024
There were not really books around at all, and in a dictatorship everything was censored.
—Lizz Schumer, Peoplemag, 2 Apr. 2024
The movie was a trending topic on the Internet (censored though the Internet is).
—Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 1 Apr. 2024
At the opposite end of the spectrum, Grok did not censor any answers, giving detailed responses to our most sensitive prompts.
—Maxwell Zeff and Thomas Germain / Gizmodo, Quartz, 29 Mar. 2024
The app gained a cult-like following from conservatives and the far-right at a time when former President Donald Trump and his administration were going after the big Silicon Valley tech platforms Facebook and Instagram for allegedly censoring conservative speech online.
—Makena Kelly, WIRED, 20 Mar. 2024
The Chinese Communist Party has long censored social media willy-nilly, including blocking Facebook, YouTube, X and more.
—Gabriel Levin, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Mar. 2024
Meanwhile, lawmakers in at least 13 states this year alone have introduced legislation that could disrupt libraries’ services and censor their materials, according to an NBC News tally.
—Daniel Arkin, NBC News, 14 Mar. 2024
Some of his speeches have been removed from YouTube and other platforms over medical misinformation claims, while his supporters claim he’s being censored for speaking the truth.
—Jenavieve Hatch, Sacramento Bee, 26 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'censor.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near censor
Cite this Entry
“Censor.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/censor. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
censor
1 of 2 noun
cen·sor
ˈsen(t)-sər
: an official who checks materials (as publications or movies) to take out things thought to be objectionable
censor
2 of 2 verb
censored; censoring
ˈsen(t)s-(ə-)riŋ
: to examine in order to prevent publication or take out things thought to be objectionable
also
: to delete things thought to be objectionable
Medical Definition
censor
noun
cen·sor
ˈsen(t)-sər
: a hypothetical psychic agency that represses unacceptable notions before they reach consciousness
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