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to show (something written) to be no longer valid by drawing a cross over or a line through it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
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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
Thomas Doherty, HollywoodReporter, 20 Apr. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for blue-pencil
Verb
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James Comey deleted the post the same day.—
NBC news,
NBC news,
3 May 2026
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In Mathurapur village, 243 of its 800 voters have been deleted from the voting list, according to a local booth official.—
Esha Mitra,
CNN Money,
1 May 2026
Verb
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Travelers across South Jersey were scrambling after the sudden shutdown of Spirit Airlines, a major carrier at Atlantic City International Airport, leaving flights canceled and raising concerns about the region's tourism economy.—
Eva Andersen,
CBS News,
3 May 2026
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The airline said on its website that all flights have been canceled and customer service is no longer available.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
3 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Blue-pencil.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/blue-pencil. Accessed 5 May. 2026.
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