Censure
mediumNegative toneSEN-shur
verb
Definition
To express severe disapproval of someone or something, especially in a formal statement
Memory hook
CEN-SURE: Are you SURE you want to formally criticize them? That's a serious censure.
Word roots
censura— judgment(Latin)
Learning roots unlocks whole word families. Study common GRE root words.
Examples
“The committee voted to censure the senator for his misconduct.”
“The report censured the company for its environmental violations.”
Test yourself
Fill in the blank with the right word:
“The committee voted to ______ the senator for his misconduct.”
Show answer
censure
Categories
GRE Tip
Censure is a medium-difficulty GRE word. On the GRE, you might see it paired with synonyms like "condemn" or "denounce" in Sentence Equivalence questions. Look for contrast clues (however, despite, although) that signal the opposite meaning. Words like "praise".
Related GRE Words
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