{i} bowdlerisation, literary censorship; written work that has been bowdlerized (named after Thomas Bowdler who published a censored version of Shakespeare's works)
the act of deleting or modifying all passages considered to be indecent written material that has been bowdlerized
{i} bowdlerization, literary censorship; written work that has been bowdlerized (named after Thomas Bowdler who published a censored version of Shakespeare's works)
bowd·ler·ize bowdlerizes bowdlerizing bowdlerized in BRIT, also use bowdlerise disapproval To bowdlerize a book or film means to take parts of it out before publishing it or showing it. I'm bowdlerizing it -- just slightly changing one or two words so listeners won't be upset. a bowdlerised version of the song. to remove all the parts of a book, play etc that you think might offend someone - used to show disapproval (Thomas Bowdler (1754-1825), English editor who removed impolite words from Shakespeare's plays)
{f} bowdlerise, censor literature, modify a written work by abridging in content, change a written work by distorting in style or content (named after Thomas Bowdler who published a censored version of Shakespeare's works)