Meaning & use
Bowdlerized
Last updated
Modified by removing material considered vulgar or offensive, often in a way that weakens the original work.
See it in a sentence
The children's edition was heavily bowdlerized, cutting all references to violence.
Critics complained that the translation had been bowdlerized to suit conservative tastes.
A note on using this word
The word derives from Thomas Bowdler, who published a sanitized edition of Shakespeare's plays in 1818 with content he deemed indecent removed.
Words with a similar meaning
censoredexpurgatedsanitized
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Words with an opposite meaning
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