Did you know?
Here's a quiz for all you etymology buffs. Can you pick the words from the following list that come from the same Latin root?
A. redaction B. prodigal C. agent D. essay
E. navigate F. ambiguous
If you guessed all of them, you are right. Now, for bonus points, name the Latin root that they all have in common. If you knew that it is the verb agere, meaning to "to drive, lead, act, or do," you get an A+. Redaction is from the Latin verb redigere ("to bring back" or "to reduce"), which was formed by adding the prefix red- (meaning "back") to agere. Some other agere offspring include act, agenda, cogent, litigate, chasten, agile, and transact.
Examples of redaction in a Sentence
Matthew Kelly
april 6, Kansas City Star, 6 Apr. 2026
Senior Assistant County Attorney Bryan Schmid argued in court filings that Scott failed to show the law is unconstitutional and suggested that Scott could create his website and post his videos with redactions to hide the personal information in the clips.
—Shelly Bradbury, Denver Post, 4 Apr. 2026
Lawmakers have questioned the Justice Department for missing deadlines to release material in its possession, for heavy redactions in the files and for failing to redact some information related to victims' identities.
—Maegan Vazquez The Washington Post, Arkansas Online, 4 Apr. 2026
The Justice Department has continued to face pressure and criticism over omissions, improper redactions and the inadvertent release of victims' names.
—Sarah N. Lynch, CBS News, 2 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for redaction
Cite this Entry
“Redaction.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/redaction. Accessed 8 Apr. 2026.
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