Meaning & use
censorship
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Meanings
noununcountable
The practice of officially examining and removing parts of books, films, news, or other material before the public sees them.
Grammar: Used without 'a' or a plural: 'Censorship is increasing.' Not 'a censorship'.
Patterns
- censorship of something
- government censorship
- media censorship
The new law led to strict censorship of newspapers and websites.
Many artists protested against government censorship of their work.
Censorship of films was common in the twentieth century.
noununcountable
The act of controlling or limiting what people can say, write, or express, especially in an unfair way.
Grammar: Often used with verbs like 'impose', 'tighten', or 'lift': 'They lifted censorship.'
Patterns
- impose censorship
- tighten censorship
- lift censorship
The company imposed censorship on employees' social media posts.
Critics said the rules amounted to censorship of political speech.
The group campaigns against censorship in all its forms.
Common combinations
- government censorship
- Government censorship prevented the report from being published.
- media censorship
- Media censorship has increased under the new regime.
- impose censorship
- The authorities imposed censorship on all broadcast news.
- strict censorship
- Strict censorship of the internet made it hard to find independent information.
- censorship laws
- Censorship laws were used to silence journalists.
Synonyms and how they differ
- suppression
- Suppression is broader and can refer to stopping any activity, not just expression; censorship specifically involves examining and removing content.
- restriction
- Restriction is a general limit; censorship is a specific kind of restriction on speech or information.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: censorship or censure?
censorship vs censure
Censure means strong official criticism, not the removal of content. A government might censure a newspaper for what it printed, but censorship stops it from printing at all.
Practice
The film was banned by the government, and many people saw this as an act of ______.
Choose one answer.
Censorship is the noun for the practice of officially controlling or removing content. 'Censure' means official criticism, not removal. 'Censoring' is a verb form and cannot follow 'an act of'. 'Censor' as a noun refers to the person, not the act.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “censorship”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.