Synonyms/Hypernyms (Ordered by Estimated Frequency) of verb bowdlerize

1 sense of bowdlerize

Sense 1
bowdlerize, bowdlerise, expurgate, castrate, shorten -- (edit by omitting or modifying parts considered indelicate; "bowdlerize a novel")
       => abridge, foreshorten, abbreviate, shorten, cut, contract, reduce -- (reduce in scope while retaining essential elements; "The manuscript must be shortened")