censure
Americannoun
-
strong or vehement expression of disapproval.
The newspapers were unanimous in their censure of the tax proposal.
- Synonyms:
- animadversion, stricture, reprimand, rebuke, reprehension, reproach, reproof, condemnation
- Antonyms:
- praise
-
an official reprimand, as by a legislative body of one of its members.
- Antonyms:
- praise
verb (used with object)
-
censures,
present (3rd person singular)
-
censured,
past participle, past
-
censuring
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
censures,
present (3rd person singular)
-
censured,
past participle, past
-
censuring
present participle
noun
verb
Usage
What does censure mean? Censure is passionate or intense criticism, as in Many countries were united in their censure of the nation responsible for the nuclear disaster. Censure can also refer to an official condemnation or reprimand, especially by a legislative body to one of its members, as in The lawyer’s terrible conduct earned him a censure from the judge. As a verb, censure means to intensely and harshly criticize something, as in The governor was censured by the media for his incredibly poor handling of the state’s hurricane response. Censure could be confused with the similarly spelled words censer, censor, and sensor. A censer is a container that holds burning incense. A censor is a person who looks for unacceptable or immoral material in media or creative works. A sensor is a device that sends a signal in reaction to environmental conditions. Example: The musician faced intense censure from other artists after stealing melodies and their career never recovered from the backlash.
Synonym Usage
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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censurernoun
-
supercensurenoun
-
miscensureverb
-
precensureverb (used with object)
-
censurelessadjective
-
procensureadjective
-
uncensuredadjective
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uncensuringadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
censuresimple
-
censuressimple
-
have censuredperfect
-
has censuredperfect
-
am censuringprogressive
-
are censuringprogressive
-
is censuringprogressive
-
have been censuringperfect progressive
-
has been censuringperfect progressive
Past
-
censuredsimple
-
had censuredperfect
-
was censuringprogressive
-
were censuringprogressive
-
had been censuringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of censure
1350–1400; Middle English < Latin cēnsūra censor's office, assessment, equivalent to cēns ( us ) past participle of cēnsēre ( see censor) + -ūra -ure
Explanation
Censure is a noun referring to very strong criticism; the verb means to criticize very strongly. If you take your dad's car without telling him, you can expect him to censure you severely, and maybe even ground you as well. The noun and verb are most closely associated with official expressions of disapproval, as when Congress censures a senator. The noun is from Latin cēnsūra, "censorship," from cēnsor, "an ancient Roman censor." The job of a Roman censor was to take the census and to supervise public morals and behavior. Our English word censor — which means to suppress speech or other forms of expression — is from this Latin word.
Vocabulary lists containing censure
Grade 11, List 1
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Animal Farm
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Othello
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Girls and women who have their mother's names do not face the same censure - and often when they marry may opt to take their husband's first name as their surname.
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
Mr. Buruma resists glib post hoc censure, acknowledging that German civilians “lived in constant fear of their own government.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 13, 2026
Noem was the public face of that disapproval, strutting forward with arrogance in the face of public censure, a veritable clown show of ineptitude.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 6, 2026
Fine has not appeared fearful of censure or any loss of his committee assignments.
From Salon ● Feb. 18, 2026
The censure of her family was like a hard shell under which she found a certain freedom.
From "Typical American" by Gish Jen
"These censures are deemed necessary, notwithstanding the fact that he continues to deny the allegations against him," the statement continued.
From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2025
It still demands collusion, censures dissent, confuses the exertion of power with the protest against it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 10, 2023
Gorsuch said that didn’t mean all censures are alike, and that such condemnation sometimes might not be acceptable, depending upon the recipient.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 24, 2022
He said he generally also does not favor censures.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 4, 2022
The theological censures likewise attack works on philosophy, on civil and natural law, and on the people.
From The History of the Inquisition of Spain from the Time of its Establishment to the Reign of Ferdinand VII. by Juan Antonio Llorente
Emilia, by contrast, is a strikingly modern figure in her cynical assessments of the hypocrisy of a culture that will deride women for sexual behavior that wouldn’t be censured in men.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 1, 2026
It’s infrequent that a judge is publicly or privately censured.
From Slate ● Dec. 11, 2025
McCarthyism is remembered so well because it was finally extinguished by the mainstream: Congress censured McCarthy, and Eisenhower criticized him.
From Salon ● Oct. 14, 2025
It does not necessarily guarantee that he will not be censured, or fired, if his remarks violate his employer’s rules or standards.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2025
It had been in this mood that he had made, in Los Angeles, the statement which caused him to be heavily censured by members of both races.
From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey
Critics are censuring Mr. Warsh for turning his back on those goals.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
“It’s just a document. OK, you’re censuring me. Great.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 21, 2023
But make no mistake about its significance: Parliament censuring a man who was prime minister as recently as September in the strongest possible terms.
From BBC ● Jun. 19, 2023
North Carolina State Representative Mark Brody, who supports censuring Sen. Tillis, says it is better to address differences directly.
From Reuters ● Mar. 3, 2023
The Russians were censuring his behavior in front of his friends and the world press.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
