Censor, Sensor, and Censure

The Quick Answer
What is the difference between censor, sensor, and censure?

To censor means to forbid.
A sensor is a detector.
Censure is displeasure.
Got it? Take a quick test.

Censor, Sensor, Censure

Writers sometimes confuse censor and sensor. Even though they sound identical, their meanings are quite different (i.e., they're homonyms). As censure sounds similar, we've included it on this page, but errors involving censure are far rarer than with censor and sensor.

Censor

The verb to censor means to forbid public distribution of something (usually a film or a newspaper).

Example:
  • How did that statement end up on the streets? I censored the article myself.

Sensor

The noun sensor denotes a detector of a stimulus (such as heat, light, motion, pressure).

Example:
  • An infrared sensor designed to detect movement triggered the roadside bomb.

Censure

The noun censure denotes a formal rebuke or official displeasure.

Example:
  • He has received two letters of censure from the commandant.
Interactive Test
 
 

See Also

adverse or averse? affect or effect? appraise or apprise? avenge or revenge? bare or bear? complement or compliment? dependant or dependent? discreet or discrete? disinterested or uninterested? e.g. or i.e.? envy or jealousy? imply or infer? its or it's? material or materiel? poisonous or venomous? practice or practise? principal or principle? tenant or tenet? who's or whose?
What are nouns? What are verbs? List of easily confused words