Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- transitive verb To erase, delete, or strike out.
- transitive verb To eliminate completely; wipe out: synonym: erase.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To mark or blot out, as with a pen; rub out; erase, as words; obliterate.
- Figuratively, to efface; strike out or wipe out; destroy; annihilate.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- transitive verb To blot out, as with pen; to rub out; to efface designedly; to obliterate; to strike out wholly.
- transitive verb To strike out; to wipe out or destroy; to annihilate.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb To
erase orstrike out . - verb To
eliminate completely;annihilate .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb remove by erasing or crossing out or as if by drawing a line
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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If there's one capitalism-red-in-tooth-and-nail aphorism that I'd like to expunge from the English language, it's that ugly, untrue US apeshit about 'nice guys come last'.
British Blogs PLATTITUDE 2010
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(in the more common leftist-anarchist version), much of cultural studies has no need for history, which tends to appear, if it appears at all, in parodic or reductive form as a history of some uncontested hegemony (orientalism, sexism, homophobia, Eurocentrism, and so on) which it is the critic's task to expunge from the present by the fierce light of radical intelligence.
Is Literary History the History of Everything? The Case for 'Antiquarian' History 2002
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As it turned out, I was mistaken, and my students reacted insteadin retrospect I can very well see whyto the considerable aggression Simpson's essay also shows toward a "postmodern cultural studies," and to the essay's unfortunate way of conflating a frivolous and generally reactionary position (posthistoire) with a serious positionone which Simpson himself rather reductively describes as the "history of some uncontested hegemony (orientalism, sexism, homophobia, Eurocentrism, and so on) which it is the critic's task to expunge from the present by the fierce light of radical intelligence."
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Labour's favourite think-tank says that because it would be hard to 'expunge' Christmas from the national calendar, 'even-handedness' means public organisations must start giving other religions equal footing.
Should Xmas be downgraded??? GayandRight 2007
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Labour's favourite think-tank says that because it would be hard to 'expunge' Christmas from the national calendar, 'even-handedness' means public organisations must start giving other religions equal footing.
Archive 2007-10-01 GayandRight 2007
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In his persistent and famous efforts to 'expunge' the resolutions of censure on Gen. Jackson that had been placed in the Senate journal, Benton had found it necessary to revolutionize the sentiments or change the composition of the Senate.
The Continental Monthly, Vol. 1, No. 4, April, 1862 Devoted To Literature And National Policy Various
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For example, recently the NASD has come under a lot of criticism for allowing brokers to "expunge" or erase instances of wrongdoing from their records.
Forbes.com: News 2010
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Geoff Morrell, Pentagon press secretary, said troops' lives would be jeopardised by the disclosure, and urged WikiLeaks to "expunge" the "stolen material" from its website as soon as possible.
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He wanted to erase it, expunge it, expel the evil thing forever.
The Omega Theory Mark Alpert 2011
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We need to expunge our great nation of these traitor.
travismcdermott commented on the word expunge
1602 W. FULBECKE 1st. Pt. Parall. 68 These words..were ordered by the Court to be expunged or blotted out.
May 21, 2008