expurgate

IPA

Dictionary definition of expurgate

To remove or censor objectionable or offensive content from a text or other work of media.
"The publisher was forced to expurgate the book due to its explicit content."

Detailed meaning of expurgate

This process involves deleting or modifying parts of a written or spoken work that are deemed inappropriate, offensive, or harmful to certain groups of people or to society as a whole. Examples of content that may be expurgated include profanity, sexual content, violence, or politically sensitive material. Expurgation is typically carried out by editors or publishers in order to comply with social or legal standards, or to avoid controversy or backlash. While the act of expurgating a text can help to make it more acceptable to a wider audience, it can also be seen as a form of censorship that limits freedom of expression. Overall, the verb "expurgate" is used to describe the act of selectively removing or altering content in a text or media work in order to make it more suitable for a particular audience or context.

Example sentences containing expurgate

1. The editor was instructed to expurgate any explicit content from the manuscript.
2. The professor expurgated the offensive remarks from the student's essay before grading it.
3. The committee decided to expurgate the sensitive information from the report before releasing it to the public.
4. The librarian had to expurgate the inappropriate passages from the children's book.
5. The film director faced criticism for expurgating a crucial scene from the final cut of the movie.
6. The publisher hired an expert to expurgate any potentially libelous statements from the memoir.

History and etymology of expurgate

The verb 'expurgate' has its etymology rooted in Latin. It can be traced back to the Latin word 'expurgare,' which is a combination of 'ex,' meaning 'out,' and 'purgare,' meaning 'to purify' or 'to cleanse.' In its original Latin form, 'expurgare' meant to cleanse or purify something thoroughly. Over time, as the concept of cleansing extended to literary and media works, the term evolved to mean the removal or censorship of objectionable or offensive content from a text or other forms of media. The etymology of 'expurgate' reflects the idea of purging or cleansing a work by eliminating elements considered inappropriate or offensive, preserving its purity or acceptability according to societal standards.

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Further usage examples of expurgate

1. The magazine editor made the decision to expurgate the controversial article due to potential legal ramifications.
2. The author reluctantly agreed to expurgate certain sections of the novel to comply with publishing guidelines.
3. The censorship board had the power to expurgate objectionable content from films before granting them a release.
4. The historian was accused of attempting to expurgate historical documents to fit a particular narrative.
5. The textbook underwent multiple rounds of review to expurgate any errors or inaccuracies.
6. The committee's task was to expurgate outdated policies from the organization's rulebook.
7. The editor-in-chief decided to expurgate the offensive language from the magazine article.
8. The company implemented a content filtering system to automatically expurgate inappropriate user-generated content.
9. The author's original manuscript was heavily expurgated by the publisher to make it more marketable.
10. The government faced criticism for attempting to expurgate certain political speeches from public records.
11. The literary critic argued that expurgating controversial passages from classic literature was a form of censorship.
12. The playwright had to expurgate several scenes from the play to meet the time constraints of the performance.
13. The newspaper editor had to expurgate sensitive information from the article to protect the identity of confidential sources.
14. The university library decided to expurgate outdated reference books from its collection to make space for new acquisitions.