bowdlerize \BODE-luh-rise; BOWD-\, transitive verb:
1. To remove or modify the parts (of a book, for example) considered offensive.
2. To modify, as by shortening, simplifying, or distorting in style or content.
The president did not call for bowdlerizing all entertainment, but stressed keeping unsuitable material away from the eyes of children.
--"Conference a start toward loosening grip of violence," Atlanta Journal, May 12, 1999
His tempestuous high school years are touched upon in a delightful scene where the precocious Roy infuriates his English teacher by trying to restore some of Shakespeare's saucier lines to that classroom's bowdlerized study of Hamlet.
--Herman Goodden, "A Few Scenes in the Life of Roy McDonald," London Free Press, December 7, 2000
He added that he bowdlerized some of the lyrics -- substituting "jerk" and "butt" for some less printable words.
--Lloyd Grove, "The Reliable Source," Washington Post, February 15, 2001
Bowdlerize derives from the name Thomas Bowdler, an editor in Victorian times who rewrote Shakespeare, removing all profanity and sexual references so as not to offend the sensibilities of the audiences of his day.
