censure

Everyday

1. (formal) Censure is strong, official criticism or disapproval. tree →
2. (formal) To censure someone is to criticise them strongly and officially, especially for something they did wrong. tree →
3. A vote of censure is when a parliament or group officially says it disapproves of a leader or member. tree →

In the lessons

In politics and law lessons censure is a formal punishment, for example when a parliament or the US Congress censures a member who has broken rules. In exam texts it is the stiff, formal word for «telling off». Phrases: vote of censure, face censure, public censure.

Examples

• (formal) The council faced public censure for closing the library. tree →
• Parliament voted to censure the minister. tree →
• The referee was censured for unfair decisions. tree →
• The report censured the company for polluting the river. tree →
• Cheating at the competition brought censure from the judges. tree →
• The senator was formally censured by Congress. tree →
• (formal) The headteacher's censure was severe but fair. tree →
• If he is a true genius, he can bear the sharp voice of censure. tree →

Note

Formal word; in everyday talk say «criticise» or «tell off». Trap: censure (to criticise) is NOT the same as censor (to remove or ban parts of books, films or news), though they sound alike.