How to Memorize

expurgate - censor

Analysis

If you ‘expurgate’ something, you remove or edit certain parts of it because they are deemed to be potentially harmful or offensive. This formal word is most commonly used in relation to a piece of writing, but it is not limited to that.

Example(s)

1. My editor told me that I had to expurgate parts of the article or else it would not be published due to potential legal ramifications.

2. Some activists have been calling for the expurgation of certain words from the dictionary which they feel are offensive to certain groups.

3. In order to lower the age rating of the movie and therefore expose it to a bigger audience, the studio had to expurgate some of the more risque elements.