1
as in to amend
to remove errors, defects, deficiencies, or deviations from
the magazine claims that every article is red-penciled by a team of fact checkers before it ever sees the light of print
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to censor
to remove objectionable parts from
a television script that had been heavily red-penciled in abject surrender to political correctness
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of red-pencil
The book is a literary arrangement of sparring between D’Agata and Fingal, consisting of a draft of D’Agata’s text red-pencilled by editors and extensive correspondence between the two writers.
—
Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 21 Apr. 2026
Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 21 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for red-pencil
Verb
-
Decades ago, Congress amended the Voting Rights Act to say that Section 2 should focus on any discriminatory effects of a redistricting plan.—
Brittney Melton,
NPR,
30 Apr. 2026
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The new judge in the murder trial of Aaron Spencer, the Republican nominee for Lonoke County sheriff, sided broadly with the defense Thursday in their attempts to reverse or amend rulings by the last judge, who was pulled from the case.—
Grant Lancaster,
Arkansas Online,
30 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Iran has its own social media platforms modeled on services like WhatsApp and YouTube, but content is closely monitored and often censored.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
30 Apr. 2026
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The report drew on interviews and surveys asking whether respondents felt censored or had experienced discrimination in Davis.—
Daniel Lempres,
Sacbee.com,
29 Apr. 2026
Verb
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At the league meetings in March, owners approved a measure that would allow replacement game officiating crews to receive assistance from the game-day command center and correct on-field calls.—
Mike Jones,
New York Times,
30 Apr. 2026
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According to the San Bernardino County Registrar of Voters, mistakes can also be corrected by simply indicating the correction on your original ballot.—
Hector Amezcua,
Sacbee.com,
30 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The goal is not to avoid the valley but to shorten the stay.—
William Jones,
USA Today,
28 Apr. 2026
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While shortening attention spans may be to blame for the shift in literature, Huehls argues that some writers are intentionally engaging with it.—
Maddie Connors,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The legislation will overhaul regulation for the City of London, including merging the payments watchdog into the FCA, reforming the financial ombudsman, and easing rules for senior staff, according to the newspaper.—
Pyotr Kozlov,
Bloomberg,
26 Apr. 2026
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In the months since, the debate at City Hall has shifted from whether to reform LAHSA to how the city should restructure its role within, or potentially beyond, the agency.—
Teresa Liu,
Daily News,
25 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Packing motion sickness remedies ahead of time is an easy way to avoid scrambling if the ship starts rocking.—
Rosie Marder,
Travel + Leisure,
27 Apr. 2026
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The Civil Rights Act, which was enacted to remedy a history of denying the right to vote based on race, allows for inspection of voter-registration records but doesn’t overturn state privacy laws, according to civil rights lawyers.—
Bart Jansen,
USA Today,
27 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Red-pencil.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/red-pencil. Accessed 3 May. 2026.
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