censorship

[sen-ser-ship]

noun

1. the act or practice of censoring.

2. the office or power of a censor.

3. the time during which a censor holds office.

4. the inhibiting and distorting activity of the Freudian censor.

censorship

/ ˈsɛnsəˌʃɪp /

noun

1. a policy or programme of censoring

2. the act or system of censoring

3. psychoanal the activity of the mind in regulating impulses, etc, from the unconscious so that they are modified before reaching the conscious mind

Other Word Forms

• anticensorship adjective
• precensorship noun
• procensorship adjective
• self-censorship noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of censorship¹

First recorded in 1585–95; censor + -ship

Example Sentences

In an eerie echo of today, a post-pandemic president promised to restore “real” American values while the country came to blows over racial unrest, shameless disinformation activity, crumbling labor unions, income inequality and censorship.

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One is Atsuko Okatsuka, who posted her invitation on social media, citing the hypocrisy of “the ‘you can’t say anything anymore!’ comedians . . . doing the festival” and agreeing to its censorship regulations.

Read more on Salon

“I somehow doubt this is the last instance we’re going to see where censorship and free speech are going to be a topic.”

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“Not surprising that it’s long been targeted for censorship.”

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District Court in Northern California, argued the account’s suspension was “censorship.”

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Related Words

• ban 
• blackout 
• restriction 
• suppression