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)
verb (used without object)
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
-
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:
"If the deputies decide to table a motion of censure or no confidence, they are capable of doing so," he added.
From Barron's ● May 24, 2026
Discrimination, harassment and sexual violence against women remain huge challenges, but feminism has become such a polarised term here it is often levelled as a grave charge, inviting witch-hunts online and censure offline.
From BBC ● Apr. 18, 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
He saw that Emma had soon made it out, and found it highly entertaining, though it was something which she judged it proper to appear to censure; for she said, “Nonsense! for shame!”
From "Emma" by Jane Austen
In the statement announcing the removal of the former prince's titles, the Palace said: "These censures are deemed necessary, notwithstanding the fact that he continues to deny the allegations against him."
From BBC ● Jan. 31, 2026
It still demands collusion, censures dissent, confuses the exertion of power with the protest against it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 10, 2023
Government officials say the Gray report, which is being closely watched for the extent to which it censures Johnson and his Conservative government, will be published as soon as possible, though unlikely before next week.
From Seattle Times ● May 19, 2022
Gorsuch said that Congress has been censuring members since the 19th century and that “elected bodies in this country issued no fewer than 20 censures in August 2020 alone.”
From Washington Post ● Mar. 24, 2022
In fine, will the sovereign of the pope permit his other subjects, magistrates, public officers, or private individuals, to be struck by ecclesiastical censures? we will never suppose it.
From The Power Of The Popes by Daunou, Pierre Claude Fran?ois
It could also ask for him to be formally censured at a future council meeting.
From BBC ● Apr. 27, 2026
The senator made the case for his record and censured Mr. Paxton for unethical behavior.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 27, 2026
It’s infrequent that a judge is publicly or privately censured.
From Slate ● Dec. 11, 2025
They subsequently won back their seats in special elections, while a third legislator, state Rep. Gloria Johnson, was censured but not expelled.
From Salon ● Oct. 14, 2025
The Senate investigators didn’t agree; the committee censured the police superintendent.
From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling
“If it takes collective action…it does so at the price of censuring any minority who do not agree with the view adopted.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 2, 2026
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
For decades after, Congress reconvened only intermittently to take pressing post-election actions, like censuring Senator Joseph McCarthy in 1954 and impeaching President Bill Clinton in 1998, or to resolve particular legislative debates.
From New York Times ● Dec. 16, 2022
"The fact is, that our democracy is precious," Labor Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said during the debate, speaking in favour of censuring Morrison.
From Reuters ● Nov. 30, 2022
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.
