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TOEIC Link Part 5: censure versus censor

Censure means to criticize or formally blame. Censor means to suppress or remove objectionable content. The two verbs share five letters and a stern tone but differ in action: censure is about expressing disapproval, while censor is about cutting material out.

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TOEIC Link Part 5: censure versus censor

Censure and censor look almost identical and both carry a tone of authority and disapproval, but they describe different actions. Censure means to criticize severely or formally express blame. Censor means to examine and suppress objectionable parts of a text, film, or message. In Part 5, censure targets a person or behavior (you censure someone for doing something), while censor targets content (you censor a report, a scene, or a word). For a pair that also turns on who or what receives the action, see comprise versus compose versus consist, and for another stern near-twin, see adverse versus averse.

The core rule: blame a person versus cut content

  • censure (verb / noun) = to criticize formally, or the formal criticism itself: The committee censured the official for misconduct. / The report drew censure from regulators.
  • censor (verb / noun) = to suppress objectionable content, or the person who does it: The studio censored the violent scenes. / The wartime censor removed troop locations from letters.

A memory hook: censure sounds like sure — you are sure someone did wrong and you blame them. Censor ends like scissor — you cut content out.

How to read the slot

The object of the verb is the tell.

  • censure takes a person, body, or conduct and often pairs with for: censure the manager for the breach, formally censure the senator. If the slot means blame or rebuke someone, choose censure.
  • censor takes content — a film, article, message, or word: censor the broadcast, censor sensitive data. If the slot means cut or suppress material, choose censor.

So the fastest test: is someone being blamed (censure), or is content being cut (censor)? Formal blame is censure; suppression of material is censor.

Common Part 5 traps

  • "(blank) the executive for the violation" is censure. A person being blamed, often with for, signals censure: the board censured the director.
  • "(blank) the documentary / the article" is censor. Content being suppressed signals censor: authorities censored the footage.
  • The noun "censure" means official disapproval, not a person. The motion of censure passed — it is the act of blaming, while a censor is the person who removes content.
  • Watch the adjective form. Censor → censorship (the practice of suppressing content). A blank asking for "accused the regime of (blank)" wants censorship, not censure.

Quick check

Decide whether the slot means formally blame a person (censure) or suppress content (censor), then choose.

  • The ethics panel voted to __ the lawmaker for the conflict of interest. → censure (blame a person, with for)
  • The network was forced to __ several scenes before airing. → censor (cut content)
  • The journalist resigned rather than allow editors to __ her column. → censor (suppress material)

If a person or behavior is being blamed, it is censure; if content is being cut or suppressed, it is censor. For more disapproval-related vocabulary distinctions, review imply versus infer.