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Bowdlerisation for Dummies

noun


What does Bowdlerisation really mean?

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Bowdlerisation is a fancy word that might sound a bit confusing at first, but don't worry! I'm here to help you understand it. Have you ever read a book or watched a movie that had parts taken out or changed because they were considered inappropriate or offensive? Well, that's what bowdlerisation is all about. It refers to the act of censoring or altering content in order to remove anything that might be considered offensive, controversial, or too explicit.

You can think of bowdlerisation as kind of like when you color or erase something in a coloring book to make it more suitable for a younger audience. It's done with the intention of making the content more acceptable or appropriate for people who may be sensitive to certain themes, ideas, or language.

A famous example of bowdlerisation is a version of Shakespeare's plays that was created by Thomas Bowdler. He wanted to make the plays more suitable for families and children, so he removed or changed parts that he thought were too violent, sexual, or just not proper for his audience. It's like taking out the scary parts of a spooky story or skipping a scene in a movie that might be too intense for someone.

So in simple terms, bowdlerisation means altering or censoring content to make it more appropriate or suitable for a particular audience. It's like cleaning up or toning down something to remove anything that might be too much for some people.

Does that make sense? Do you have any other questions about bowdlerisation or anything else you'd like to know?


Revised and Fact checked by James Lee on 2023-10-28 10:24:09

Bowdlerisation In a sentece

Learn how to use Bowdlerisation inside a sentece

  • When you are reading a book, sometimes certain parts of the story may be changed or taken out so that they are more appropriate for younger readers. This process is called bowdlerisation.
  • If you are watching a movie and some scenes are removed or altered to make it suitable for all audiences, that is an example of bowdlerisation.
  • In some countries, when a song with explicit lyrics is played on the radio, the words may be changed or censored to make it more suitable for everyone listening. This is an instance of bowdlerisation.
  • When a classic play is adapted for a school performance and certain dialogue or scenes are modified to make it more child-friendly, that is bowdlerisation.
  • If a newspaper publishes a story but removes sensitive or inappropriate details to make it suitable for all readers, that is an example of bowdlerisation.

Bowdlerisation Synonyms

Words that can be interchanged for the original word in the same context.

Bowdlerisation Hypernyms

Words that are more generic than the original word.