expurgate

[ ek-sper-geyt ]
See synonyms for expurgate on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object),ex·pur·gat·ed, ex·pur·gat·ing.
  1. to amend by removing words, passages, etc., deemed offensive or objectionable: Most children read an expurgated version of Grimms' fairy tales.

  2. to purge or cleanse of moral offensiveness.

Origin of expurgate

1
1615–25; <Latin expurgātus, past participle of expurgāre to clean out. See ex-1, purge, -ate1

Other words for expurgate

Other words from expurgate

  • ex·pur·ga·tion, noun
  • ex·pur·ga·tor, noun
  • un·ex·pur·gat·ed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use expurgate in a sentence

  • Against the insect, the frog, and the reptile mass, the venomous reptile proved an useful expurgator.

    The Bird | Jules Michelet
  • But when Herman and Verman set to 't the record must be no more than a few fragments left by the expurgator.

    Penrod | Booth Tarkington

British Dictionary definitions for expurgate

expurgate

/ (ˈɛkspəˌɡeɪt) /


verb
  1. (tr) to amend (a book, text, etc) by removing (obscene or offensive sections)

Origin of expurgate

1
C17: from Latin expurgāre to clean out, from purgāre to purify; see purge

Derived forms of expurgate

  • expurgation, noun
  • expurgator, noun
  • expurgatory (ɛksˈpɜːɡətərɪ, -trɪ) or expurgatorial (ɛkˌspɜːɡəˈtɔːrɪəl), adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for expurgate

expurgate

[ (ek-spuhr-gayt) ]


To clean up, remove impurities. An expurgated edition of a book has had offensive words or descriptions changed or removed.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.