ləˌraɪz, ˈbaʊd- verb (used with object), bowd·ler·ized, bowd·ler·iz·ing.
to expurgate (a written work) by removing or modifying passages considered vulgar or objectionable.
Also, especially British, bowd·ler·ise.
Origin:
1830–40; after Thomas Bowdler (1754–1825), English editor of an expurgated edition of Shakespeare
1830–40; after Thomas Bowdler (1754–1825), English editor of an expurgated edition of Shakespeare
Related forms
bowd·ler·ism, noun
bowd·ler·i·za·tion, noun
bowd·ler·iz·er, noun
un·bowd·ler·ized, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
|
Link To bowdlerize
00:10
Bowdlerize
is always a great word to know.
So is ort. Does it mean:
| a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question. |
| a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
bowdlerize or bowdlerise (ˈbaʊdləˌraɪz) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —vb | |
| (tr) to remove passages or words regarded as indecent from (a play, novel, etc); expurgate | |
| [C19: after Thomas Bowdler (1754--1825), English editor who published an expurgated edition of Shakespeare] | |
| bowdlerise or bowdlerise | |
| —vb | |
| [C19: after Thomas Bowdler (1754--1825), English editor who published an expurgated edition of Shakespeare] | |
| bowdleri'zation or bowdlerise | |
| —n | |
| bowdleri'sation or bowdlerise | |
| —n | |
| 'bowdlerizer or bowdlerise | |
| —n | |
| 'bowdleriser or bowdlerise | |
| —n | |
| 'bowdlerism or bowdlerise | |
| —n | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
bowdlerize
1836, from Thomas Bowdler (1754-1825), English editor who in 1818 published a notorious expurgated Shakespeare, in which, according to his frontspiece, "nothing is added to the original text; but those words and expressions omitted which cannot with propriety be read aloud in a family."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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