self-censor

verb

To censor one's own words or works; to engage in self-censorship.

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Meanings

verbself-censor (third-person singular simple present self-censors, present participle self-censoring, simple past and past participle self-censored)

present singular third person self-censors · participle present self-censoring · participle past self-censored · past self-censored

  1. intransitivetransitiveTo censor one's own words or works; to engage in self-censorship.

    An antimeme is an idea with self-censoring properties; an idea which, by its intrinsic nature, discourages or prevents people from spreading it.

    2018, Sam "qntm" Hughes, There Is No Antimemetics Division
    1 more example

    There's been a lot of talk recently about the problem of "libel chill" on British science writing, that people self-censor for fear they'd be sued (as Simon Singh was by British Chiropractic Association).

    2010 September 13, Alice Bell, “A physicist, a chemist and a zoologist walk into a bar . . .”, in The Guardian, UK, retrieved 29 May 2014

Origin

From self- + censor.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Greek αυτολογοκρίνομαι
  • αυτολογοκρίνομαι (aftologokrínomai)to censor oneself
Cite this entry
APA

self-censor. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/self-censor

MLA

“self-censor.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/self-censor. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “self-censor,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/self-censor.

Source: self-censor on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.