expurgate

[ ek-sper-geyt ]

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.

   Synonyms: bowdlerize, purge, censor, excise, delete

2. to purge or cleanse of moral offensiveness.

expurgate

/ ɛksˈpɜːɡətərɪ; ˈɛkspəˌɡeɪt; ɛkˌspɜːɡəˈtɔːrɪəl; -trɪ /

verb

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

expurgate

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

Derived Forms

• ˌexpurˈgation, noun
• expurgatory, adjective
• ˈexpurˌgator, noun

Other Words From

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of expurgate¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of expurgate¹

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

Example Sentences

But seven years after McCormick’s death, at 85, here comes his book, in a modest and expurgated form, under the title “Biography of a Phantom: A Robert Johnson Blues Odyssey.”

From New York Times

He found original versions of manuscripts and restored expurgated words and entire passages which had been subject to censorship because editors, publishers and reviewers deemed them to be obscene or tasteless.

From New York Times

And with the exception of that expurgated Benchley quote, its advertising eschewed pull quotes, focusing instead on the show’s popularity: “Hundreds have seen ‘Abie’ three times or more.

From New York Times

When he tossed out — “expurgated,” he said — about 60 more students five years later, he called them “leeches, miscreants and hoodlums.”

From Seattle Times

Lindo: There is a tradition of black soldiers being marginalized at best, expurgated at worst.

From Seattle Times