bowdlerize
Remove offensive passages
Bowdlerize means to remove or alter parts of a text considered offensive, vulgar, or otherwise unsuitable—typically sexual or violent content.
The word comes from Thomas Bowdler, who published sanitized editions of Shakespeare in the early 1800s, removing passages he deemed inappropriate for women and children.
The term is almost always used critically, implying that the editing has weakened or neutered the original work.
The studio bowdlerized the film to secure a PG-13 rating.
Conceal text for secrecy
- sanitizeCleanse of pathogens
- censorOne who suppresses content
- suppressForcibly put an end to
- exciseRemove by cutting
expunge · purge · delete · omit · remove · cut · blot out · blue-pencil
Shorten by omission
alter · rewrite · rework · condense · shorten · elide · paraphrase · adapt
Excessively strict about morals
- prudishExcessively concerned with propriety
- primAffectedly proper and stiff
- priggishSmugly self-righteous
- strait-lacedExcessively proper and strict
Victorian · squeamish · prissy · proper · demure · modest · overmodest · coy
Feigning moral superiority
- self-righteousSmugly certain of correctness
- censoriousSeverely critical in judgment
- judgmentalInclined to criticize others
- holier-than-thouSmugly moralistic toward others
preachy · didactic · narrow-minded · pearl-clutching · propriety · decency · morality · offensiveness
Fitting to new conditions
- abridgmentShortened form of text
- school editionText revised for classrooms
- ShakespeareElizabethan dramatist and poet
- classic textsFoundational works of literature
redact
Conceal text for secrecy
excise · expunge · purge · delete · omit · remove · cut · blot out · blue-pencil · blackout
abridge
Shorten by omission
modify · alter · rewrite · rework · condense · shorten · elide · paraphrase · adapt · tone down
puritanical
Excessively strict about morals
- prudishExcessively concerned with propriety
- primAffectedly proper and stiff
- priggishSmugly self-righteous
strait-laced · Victorian · squeamish · prissy · proper · demure · modest · overmodest · coy · fastidious
sanctimonious
Feigning moral superiority
- self-righteousSmugly certain of correctness
- censoriousSeverely critical in judgment
- judgmentalInclined to criticize others
holier-than-thou · preachy · didactic · narrow-minded · pearl-clutching · propriety · decency · morality · offensiveness · obscenity
adaptation
Fitting to new conditions
- abridgmentShortened form of text
- school editionText revised for classrooms
- ShakespeareElizabethan dramatist and poet
bowdlerizepreserve
Protect from loss
restore · maintain · retain · uncut · unexpurgated
bowdlerized, bowdlerization, bowdlerizing, bowdlerise, bowdlerised