The Difference between Censor, Sensor, and Censure
- A "censor" is a person who removes content deemed inappropriate or offensive. It can also be a verb ("to censor"). For example:
- The censor removed all the violent scenes.
- We seem okay with violence, but nudity we race to criticize and censor. (Actress Eva Mendes)
- A "sensor" is a detector. For example:
- The motion sensor turns on the lights if it detects movement.
- The answer to crime is yet another national employment program. It is better cameras, sensors, and locks.
(Writer Evgeny Morozov)
- "Censure" is displeasure. For example:
- He who would acquire fame must not show himself afraid of censure. The dread of censure is the death of genius.
(Politician and writer William Gilmore Simms)

More about "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). It can also be a noun that refers to a person who censors.Here are two example sentences with "censor" as a verb:
- How did that statement end up on the streets? I censored the article myself.
- Thanks to television, for the first time the young are seeing history made before it is censored by their elders.
(Author Margaret Mead)
Here are two example sentences with "censor" as a noun:
- The censor reviewed the film and removed all scenes with young people carrying knives.
- In prison, a censor examines the prisoners' letters to ensure no escape plans are being discussed.
Sensor
The noun "sensor" means a detector of a stimulus (such as heat, light, motion, pressure).Here are two example sentences with "sensor":
- The light is fitted with an infrared sensor that detects body heat.
- There is a shirt company making sensors that go into your clothing. They will watch how you sit, run, or ski and give data on that information.
(Blogger Robert Scoble)
Censure
The noun "censure" means a formal rebuke or official displeasure.Example are two example sentences with "censure":
- He has received two letters of censure from the commandant.
- The readiest and surest way to get rid of censure is to correct ourselves.
(Greek statesman Demosthenes)
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