bowdlerize
BOWD-luh-ryze
/ˈbaʊd.lə.raɪz/
To remove or modify passages considered vulgar or objectionable from a text, resulting in a weakened version.
Carries a strong derogatory connotation implying prudish, patronizing censorship that ruins artistic depth.
The story behind the word. In 1818, Thomas Bowdler published 'The Family Shakspeare', an edition in which he excised words and expressions that he deemed unfit to be read aloud in a family setting. His surname quickly became an enduring insult for prudish literary censorship.
Word relationships
- expurgate: Expurgate sounds more technical and formal, whereas bowdlerize carries an explicit insult regarding prudishness.
- sanitize: Sanitize can refer to cleaning up physical spaces, ideas, or language, while bowdlerize is restricted to literary and text editing.
- restore: Restore means putting back original deleted material.
- expand: Expand adds material rather than cutting out objectionable text.
Commonly confused with
- redact: Redact means blacking out sensitive information for legal/security reasons; bowdlerize means editing out 'immoral' content for prudish reasons.
Word family
- bowdlerization (noun): The act or instance of bowdlerizing.
- bowdlerized (adjective): Censored by deleting morally objectionable content.
Collocations
- bowdlerize a text
- heavily bowdlerized
- bowdlerize classics
Idioms & expressions
- sanitize for soft ears
Example sentences
- "Prudery is not purity, and to bowdlerize Shakespeare is to insult both the playwright and the audience." Literary criticism
- "Publishers tried to bowdlerize the classic novel for high school classrooms, stripping out its gritty historical realism." Textbook editing
Memory hook
BOWDLER sounds like BOULDER—heavy rocks crushing the life out of delicate literature. Thomas Bowdler sanitizing Shakespeare.
When not to use
Do not use for routine administrative redactions of legal files; bowdlerize specifically implies moral prudery in literature or art.
Fun facts
- Thomas Bowdler actually removed Ophelia's suicide from Hamlet, reframing her death as accidental drowning to protect sensitive readers.
Take your vocabulary further with LangBlitz
Our English vocabulary app: FSRS spaced repetition, 5,000+ curated words across 119 topic groups, CEFR A1 to C2. Explore your mastery with the beautiful Vocabulary World feature.