censor

/ˈsɛnsə/

//ˈsɛnsə// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"censor" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“censor” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #18,034. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#18,034
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
13
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - One of the two magistrates who originally administered the census of citizens, and by Classical times (between the 8th century B.C.E. and the 6th century C.E.) was a high judge of public behaviour ...

Corpus desk

Index EN-censor · censor · English

censor · rank #18,034 · 9 variants · 13 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #18,034
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 13 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH centennial

Nearest frequency peer: centennial (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “censor”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “censor” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

censor vs Conor
50% similar
censor vs Cesar
50% similar
censor vs center
67% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for censor
PropertyValue
Headwordcensor
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈsɛnsə/
Letters6
Frequency rank#18,034
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs13
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “censor”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).censorlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “centennial” (#18,035), “carbs” (#18,032), “Cheney” (#18,036). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “censor” is #18,034. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around censor (IPA /ˈsɛnsə/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #18,034 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for censor, with forms such as "ccensor", "cennsor", and "cenosr". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 13 confusable-pair relationships, "Conor", "Cesar", "center", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: The noun is borrowed from Latin cēnsor (“magistrate; critic”), from cēnseō (“to give an opinion, judge; to assess, reckon; to decree, determine”) + -sor (variant of -tor (suffix forming masculine agent nouns)). Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱens- (“t… The correct English form is censor, spelled C-E-N-S-O-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    One of the two magistrates who originally administered the census of citizens, and by Classical times (between the 8th century B.C.E. and the 6th century C.E.) was a high judge of public behaviour and morality.
  2. 2
    A high-ranking official who was responsible for the supervision of subordinate government officials.
  3. 3
    An official responsible for the removal or suppression of objectionable material (for example, if obscene or likely to incite violence) or sensitive content in books, films, correspondence, and other media.
  4. 4
    A college or university official whose duties vary depending on the institution.
  5. 5
    One who censures or condemns.
  6. 6
    An algorithm that approves or rejects something on grounds of taste or morality etc.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how censor appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The Ancient Roman censors were part of the cursus honorum, a series of public offices held during a political career, like consuls and praetors.
  2. And Nobly nam'd, ſo twice being Cenſor, / Was his great Anceſtor.

Etymology

The noun is borrowed from Latin cēnsor (“magistrate; critic”), from cēnseō (“to give an opinion, judge; to assess, reckon; to decree, determine”) + -sor (variant of -tor (suffix forming masculine agent nouns)). Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱens- (“to announce, proclaim; to put in order”). The English word is cognate with Late Middle English sensour, Proto-Iranian *cánhati (“to declare; to explain”), Sanskrit शंसति (śaṃsati, “to declare”). The verb is derived from the noun.

This word in other languages

censor(Español)censeur(Français)Zensor(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccensor
  • cennsor
  • cenosr
  • censorr
  • censro
  • censsor
  • cesnor
  • cnesor
  • ecnsor

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of censor - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

ccensor1cennsor1cenosr2censorr1censro2censsor1cesnor2cnesor2
Edit distance from "censor"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "censor"?
"censor" is spelled C-E-N-S-O-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈsɛnsə/.
What does "censor" mean?
As a noun, "censor" means: One of the two magistrates who originally administered the census of citizens, and by Classical times (between the 8th century B.C.E. and the 6th century C.E.) was a high judge of public behaviour ...
What words are commonly confused with "censor"?
"censor" is commonly confused with "Conor", "Cesar", "center". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "censor"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "censor" is /ˈsɛnsə/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "censor"?
The noun is borrowed from Latin cēnsor (“magistrate; critic”), from cēnseō (“to give an opinion, judge; to assess, reckon; to decree, determine”) + -sor (variant of -tor (suffix forming masculine agent nouns)). Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European ... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "censor", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Cheney#18,036clover#18,041Benton#18,024Barlow#18,023

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

Connolly9 variantsbaffled9 variantsdresser9 variantsunborn9 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list