What does "censor" mean?
One of the two magistrates who originally administered the census of citizens, and by Classical times (between the 8th century B.C.E. and the 6th century C.E.) was a high judge of public behaviour and morality.
Censor
/ˈsɛnsə/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: One of the two magistrates who originally administered the census of citizens, and by Classical times (between the 8th century B.C.E. and the 6th century C.E.) was a high judge of public behaviour and morality.
- Grammar: censor is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: abbreviate, abridge, annotator, ashcans.
- Useful contrasts: unshackled, unsilenced, allow.
- Usage evidence: In 1980 the Ontario Censor Board banned the film "The Tin Drum," adapted from the Günter Grass novel, but the media found this silly, and so the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) showed the offending scene that night from coast to coast on the national news.
How to use "censor"
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- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "censor" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
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- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "censor" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
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Compare nearby meanings
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Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "censor" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
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3. Confirm with context
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Final meaning check
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Definitions
Noun
- 1 One of the two magistrates who originally administered the census of citizens, and by Classical times (between the 8th century B.C.E. and the 6th century C.E.) was a high judge of public behaviour and morality. Ancient-Rome, historical
"The Ancient Roman censors were part of the cursus honorum, a series of public offices held during a political career, like consuls and praetors."
- 2 A hypothetical subconscious agency which filters unacceptable thought before it reaches the conscious mind. transitive
- 3 a person who is authorized to read publications or correspondence or to watch theatrical performances and suppress in whole or in part anything considered obscene or politically unacceptable wordnet
- 4 A high-ranking official who was responsible for the supervision of subordinate government officials. Ancient-China, historical
- 5 someone who censures or condemns wordnet
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 An official responsible for the removal or suppression of objectionable material (for example, if obscene or likely to incite violence) or sensitive content in books, films, correspondence, and other media.
"The headmaster was an even stricter censor of his boarding pupils’ correspondence than the enemy censors had been of his own when the country was occupied."
- 7 A college or university official whose duties vary depending on the institution.
"During his [Theophilus Higgons's] reſidence in the ſaid houſe [Christ Church, Oxford], he was eſteemed a Perſon to be much ſtained with Puritaniſme, and to be violent againſt all ſuch that were ſuſpected to favour the Romiſh See. When he was Cenſor alſo, he was ſo zealous as to ſaw down a harmleſs maypole ſtanding within the precincts of the ſaid houſe, becauſe forſooth he thought it came out of a Romiſh Foreſt."
- 8 One who censures or condemns. obsolete
"Why that character [of the English Revolution] was so peculiar is sufficiently obvious, and yet seems not to have been always understood either by eulogists or by censors."
- 9 An algorithm that approves or rejects something on grounds of taste or morality etc.
"I tried using a dirty word as my user name for the online game, but the censor rejected it."
Verb
- 1 To review for, and if necessary to remove or suppress, content from books, films, correspondence, and other media which is regarded as objectionable (for example, obscene, likely to incite violence, or sensitive). transitive
"The people responsible for censoring films have seen some startling things in their time."
- 2 subject to political, religious, or moral censorship wordnet
- 3 To partially obscure an observation. transitive
"Early dropout is one cause of right-censoring."
- 4 forbid the public distribution of (a movie or a newspaper) wordnet
Antonyms
Example
"In 1980 the Ontario Censor Board banned the film "The Tin Drum," adapted from the Günter Grass novel, but the media found this silly, and so the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) showed the offending scene that night from coast to coast on the national news."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "censor"?
Common synonyms include: abbreviate, abridge, annotator, ashcans, asphyxiate, asterisks.
How do you use "censor" in a sentence?
In 1980 the Ontario Censor Board banned the film "The Tin Drum," adapted from the Günter Grass novel, but the media found this silly, and so the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) showed the offending scene that night from coast to coast on the national news.
How do you pronounce "censor"?
Pronounced /ˈsɛnsə/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
The noun is borrowed from Latin cēnsor (“magistrate; critic”), from cēnseō (“to give an opinion, judge; to assess, reckon; to decree, determine”) + -sor (variant of -tor (suffix forming masculine agent nouns)). Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱens- (“to announce, proclaim; to put in order”). The English word is cognate with Late Middle English sensour, Proto-Iranian *cánhati (“to declare; to explain”), Sanskrit शंसति (śaṃsati, “to declare”). The verb is derived from the noun.
Etymology 2
From an incorrect translation of German Zensur (“censorship”).