Bowdlerise: meaning, pronunciation and examples
Bowdlerise verb. To remove parts of a text thought to be improper or offensive, often weakening it.
How to say it
BOWD-luh-ryze/ˈbaʊdləraɪz/
3 syllables, stressed on the first (BOWD). Forms: bowdlerised, bowdlerize, bowdlerized.
Bowdlerise in a sentence
The school edition bowdlerised the play so thoroughly that the jokes no longer made sense.
Fans were furious when the studio tried to bowdlerise the original lyrics.
Similar and opposite
Similar:
- censor
- expurgate
- sanitise
- clean up
Where bowdlerise comes from
From Thomas Bowdler, whose Family Shakespeare of 1818 left out lines he thought unfit for families.
Test yourself
Which word fills the gap?
Fans were furious when the studio tried to _____ the original lyrics.
- foreshadow
- bowdlerise
- peruse
Show the answer
bowdlerise: Fans were furious when the studio tried to bowdlerise the original lyrics.