“Bowdlerization (noun): The altering, rewording, or striking out of parts of a literary work out of a sense of propriety or prudery, often with euphemistic paraphrases; moralistic censorship; prudishly modified version of a book. N. bowdlerism; v. bowdlerize. Also EXPURGATION
‘It now develops that even before it was submitted to the publisher, Dreiser’s work was greatly censored—indeed, bowdlerized—by his wife, “Jug,” and a good friend, newspaperman Arthur Henry.’ Ray Walters, The New York Times”
Excerpted from: Grambs, David. The Random House Dictionary for Writers and Readers. New York: Random House, 1990.
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