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CENSORIAL

 - 6 dictionary results

cen⋅sor

  [sen-ser]
Use CENSORIAL in a Sentence
–noun
1. an official who examines books, plays, news reports, motion pictures, radio and television programs, letters, cablegrams, etc., for the purpose of suppressing parts deemed objectionable on moral, political, military, or other grounds.
2. any person who supervises the manners or morality of others.
3. an adverse critic; faultfinder.
4. (in the ancient Roman republic) either of two officials who kept the register or census of the citizens, awarded public contracts, and supervised manners and morals.
5. (in early Freudian dream theory) the force that represses ideas, impulses, and feelings, and prevents them from entering consciousness in their original, undisguised forms.
–verb (used with object)
6. to examine and act upon as a censor.
7. to delete (a word or passage of text) in one's capacity as a censor.
Origin:
1525–35; < L cēnsor, equiv. to cēns(ēre) to give as one's opinion, recommend, assess + -tor -tor; -sor for *-stor by analogy with derivatives from dentals, as tōnsor barber (see tonsorial )

Related forms:
cen⋅sor⋅a⋅ble, adjective
cen⋅so⋅ri⋅al  [sen-sawr-ee-uhl, -sohr-] , cen⋅so⋅ri⋅an, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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cen·sor   (sěn'sər)   
n.  

  1. A person authorized to examine books, films, or other material and to remove or suppress what is considered morally, politically, or otherwise objectionable.

  2. An official, as in the armed forces, who examines personal mail and official dispatches to remove information considered secret or a risk to security.

  3. One that condemns or censures.

  4. One of two officials in ancient Rome responsible for taking the public census and supervising public behavior and morals.

  5. Psychology The agent in the unconscious that is responsible for censorship.

tr.v.   cen·sored, cen·sor·ing, cen·sors
To examine and expurgate.

[Latin cēnsor, Roman censor, from cēnsēre, to assess; see kens- in Indo-European roots.]
cen'sor·a·ble adj., cen·so'ri·al (sěn-sôr'ē-əl, -sōr'-) adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

censor  (n.)
1531, Roman magistrate who took censuses and oversaw public morals, from L. censere "to appraise, value, judge," from PIE base *kens- "speak solemnly, announce." Transferred sense of "officious judge of morals and conduct" is from 1592; of books, plays, later films, etc., 1644. The verb is from 1882.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: censor
Function: noun
: one that censors
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: cen·sor
Pronunciation: 'sen(t)-s&r
Function: noun
: a hypothetical psychic agency that represses unacceptable notions before theyreach consciousness —cen·so·ri·al /sen-'sOr-E-&l, -'sor-/ adjective
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

censor cen·sor (sěn'sər)
n.
The hypothetical agent in the unconscious mind that is responsible for suppressing unconscious thoughts and wishes.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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