censorship
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
the act of removing or hiding information, books, or films that a government or group thinks are dangerous or offensive.
the suppression or prohibition of any parts of books, films, news, or other media that are considered obscene, politically unacceptable, or a threat to security.
Simple“The government used strict censorship to stop people from reading news from other countries.”
In context“The regime's heavy-handed censorship of the internet failed to prevent the spread of information via encrypted messaging apps during the protests.”
UsageUncountable when referring to the general practice; countable when referring to a specific system or instance.
SynonymsAntonymsfreedom of speechopenness - 02 C2 Proficiency
the job or power of a 'censor' in ancient Rome.
the office or term of a censor in Ancient Rome, responsible for maintaining the census and supervising public morality.
Simple“He held the censorship for eighteen months and conducted a full census of the city.”
In context“During his tenure in the censorship, he removed several senators from the rolls for failing to meet the required moral standards.”
UsageUsually used in historical or academic contexts regarding Roman law.
“Slavin said he was dismissed for insubordination after an interview he gave that objected to any potential censorship by the US military .”
“The editor-in-chief of US military newspaper Stars and Stripes has told the BBC of his concern over censorship a day after being dismissed by the US Department of Defense (DoD) for "insubordination".”
From censor + -ship.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.