# redacted

/ɹɪˈdæktɪd/ (US) · /ɹɪdˈæktɪd/ (UK) · CEFR C1 · Adjective

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/redacted
Updated: 2026-05-09

## Definition

describes a document where private or secret information has been covered up or removed before it is shared. You see this when names or dates are blacked out for safety.

For teachers: having sensitive or confidential information removed or obscured from a text before publication. Often used as a participial adjective to describe legal or government documents.

## Examples

- The government released a redacted version of the report.
- To protect the witness's identity, the police provided the lawyers with a redacted transcript of the interview.
- The heavily redacted files contained so many blacked-out passages that the investigative journalists found it nearly impossible to reconstruct the timeline of the scandal.

## Usage notes

- Often follows a linking verb or precedes a noun like 'report', 'document', or 'file'.

---

From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.