Definition of CENSOR

censor

Meanings

Plural: censors

Noun

  • someone who censures or condemns
  • a person who is authorized to read publications or correspondence or to watch theatrical performances and suppress in whole or in part anything considered obscene or politically unacceptable
  • One of the two magistrates who originally administered the census of citizens, and by Classical times (between the 8th century B.C.E. and the 6th century C.E.) was a high judge of public behaviour and morality.
  • A high-ranking official who was responsible for the supervision of subordinate government officials.
  • An official responsible for the removal or suppression of objectionable material (for example, if obscene or likely to incite violence) or sensitive content in books, films, correspondence, and other media.
  • A college or university official whose duties vary depending on the institution.
  • One who censures or condemns.
  • An algorithm that approves or rejects something on grounds of taste or morality etc.
  • A hypothetical subconscious agency which filters unacceptable thought before it reaches the conscious mind.

Verb

  • forbid the public distribution of ( a movie or a newspaper)
  • subject to political, religious, or moral censorship
    • "This magazine is censored by the government"
  • To review for, and if necessary to remove or suppress, content from books, films, correspondence, and other media which is regarded as objectionable (for example, obscene, likely to incite violence, or sensitive).
  • To partially obscure an observation.

Origin / Etymology

The noun is borrowed from Latin cēnsor (“magistrate; critic”), from cēnseō (“to give an opinion, judge; to assess, reckon; to decree, determine”) + -sor (variant of -tor (suffix forming masculine agent nouns)). Cēnseō is derived from Proto-Italic *kensēō, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱens- (“to announce, proclaim; to put in order”). The English word is cognate with Late Middle English sensour, Proto-Iranian *cánhati (“to declare; to explain”), Sanskrit शंसति (śaṃsati, “to declare”).
The verb is derived from the noun.

Antonyms

decensor

Scrabble Score: 8

censor is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL word
censor is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
censor is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 10

censor is a valid Words With Friends word