bowdlerising
Removing offensive content
Bowdlerising is removing or toning down parts of a text considered offensive, vulgar, or otherwise objectionable.
The word comes from Thomas Bowdler, who published sanitised editions of Shakespeare in 1818, cutting passages he deemed unfit for women and children.
The term is usually pejorative, suggesting prudish or heavy-handed censorship: The studio bowdlerised the film for television broadcast.
British spelling; Americans write bowdlerizing.
Removal of offensive content
- redactionObscuring sensitive text
- suppressionForcible prevention or concealment
- prohibitionAuthoritative legal ban
- tabooCultural or social prohibition
prudery · puritanism · propriety · decency · censoriousness · prudishness · conservatism · repression
Remove offensive material
- redactConceal text for secrecy
- exciseRemove by cutting
- abridgeShorten by omission
- editModify written material
cut · prune · elide · delete · omit · expunge · sanitize · cleanse
Correctness of conduct
- decencyMoral appropriateness in behavior
- modestyAbsence of vanity
- wholesomenessQuality of being good
- respectabilityMoral and social worthiness
prudishness · virtue · purity · innocence · delicacy · squeamishness · sensibility · Victorian
Composing text anew
- alteringMaking changes to
- amendingModifying to improve
- modifyingChanging partially
- adaptingModifying to suit conditions
tailoring · reworking · rephrasing · paraphrasing · adjusting · transforming · revising · reshaping
expurgation
Removal of offensive content
- redactionObscuring sensitive text
- suppressionForcible prevention or concealment
- prohibitionAuthoritative legal ban
taboo · prudery · puritanism · propriety · decency · censoriousness · prudishness · conservatism · repression · conformity
expurgate
Remove offensive material
edit · cut · prune · elide · delete · omit · expunge · sanitize · cleanse · euphemize
propriety
Correctness of conduct
- decencyMoral appropriateness in behavior
- modestyAbsence of vanity
- wholesomenessQuality of being good
respectability · prudishness · virtue · purity · innocence · delicacy · squeamishness · sensibility · Victorian · family values
rewriting
Composing text anew
adapting · tailoring · reworking · rephrasing · paraphrasing · adjusting · transforming · revising · reshaping · redrafting
bowdlerisingpreserving
Protecting from deterioration
faithful translation · unabridged · restoring · unedited · unexpurgated
bowdlerisingembellishing
Adding decorative details
sensationalising · amplifying · coarsening · vulgarising · uncensoring
bowdlerisingoriginal form
unvarnished · raw · unadulterated · unmolested · critical edition
bowdlerize, bowdlerized, expurgating, bowdlerizing, bowdlerise, bowdlerised, bowdlerisation