as in to delete
to show (something written) to be no longer valid by drawing a cross over or a line through it
military censors blue-penciled any remarks that could possibly be deemed critical
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of blue-pencil
Before getting sunk by a turgid love story — the kind of cinematic dead zone Thalberg would have blue-penciled in the screenplay stage — The Last Tycoon provides a good sense of what a producer actually does.
—
Thomas Doherty, HollywoodReporter, 20 Apr. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for blue-pencil
Verb
-
In December 2020 — shortly before Hilaria's heritage controversy emerged — Schumer posted some of Hilaria's family photos on her own Instagram page, later deleting them and apologizing to Hilaria, who spoke out about receiving negative comments.—
-
Earlier in the litigation, which has been ongoing since February 2021, Smartmatic faced accusations from Fox of improperly deleting materials, which the voting company denied.—
Verb
-
But this sort of work would require close collaboration with Chinese researchers, at just the time when those collaborations are being scrutinized or canceled.—
-
Panama's comptroller general and attorney general are now seeking to cancel CK Hutchison's concessions to its two Canal Zone ports.—
Cite this Entry
“Blue-pencil.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/blue-pencil. Accessed 28 May. 2025.
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share