An expurgation of a work, also known as a bowdlerization or fig-leafing, is a form of censorship that involves purging anything deemed noxious or offensive from an artistic work or other type of writing or media. [1][2][3][4]
The meaning of EXPURGATE is to cleanse of something morally harmful, offensive, or erroneous; especially : to expunge objectionable parts from before publication or presentation. How to use expurgate in a sentence. Did you know?
Expurgation means removing parts of a written work that are offensive or objectionable. After your fussy teacher's expurgation of your short story, you might hardly recognize the tame prose that's left.
Definition of 'expurgation' expurgation in British English noun the act or process of amending a book, text, or other material by removing obscene or offensive sections
There are five meanings listed in OED's entry for the noun expurgation, two of which are labelled obsolete. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.
Expurgation refers to the process of removing or editing out parts of a text that are considered inappropriate, offensive, or objectionable. This practice is common in publishing, where materials may be adjusted to adhere to societal norms or legal standards.
If someone expurgates a piece of writing, they remove parts of it before it is published because they think those parts will offend or shock people. He heavily expurgated the work in its second edition. [VERB noun] It was first published in 1914 in a highly expurgated version. Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary.