Definition

1. Noun:
   • Military censorship of civilian communications: "Civil censorship" refers specifically to the control, review, and potential suppression of civilian communications (such as letters, publications, or films) by military authorities. This occurs when these communications enter, leave, or circulate within territories controlled by armed forces.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • During the war, civil censorship was implemented to prevent sensitive information from reaching the enemy.
  • The government defended the policy of civil censorship as a necessary measure for national security.

Advanced Usage

• The term is often used in historical or political contexts discussing wartime measures, civil liberties, and the balance between security and freedom of expression.
• It implies a formal, institutionalized process conducted under legal or emergency military authority, distinct from informal social pressure or corporate content moderation.

Variants and Related Words

• Censorship (n): The broader practice of suppressing speech, public communication, or other information.
• Military censorship (n): Censorship applied specifically to communications within or from the military.
• Censor (n/v): The person who performs censorship, or the act of examining and suppressing material.

Synonyms

• Security review
• Communications control (in a military context)

Related Phrases

• To impose civil censorship: To establish or enforce such a system.
  • The regime imposed strict civil censorship on all outgoing mail.
• To be subject to civil censorship: To be under the control of such a system.
  • All journalists' reports from the conflict zone were subject to civil censorship.

Notes

• "Civil censorship" is a compound noun. The core concept is censorship, with "civil" specifying that the targets are non-military persons and communications, and the implementing authority is military. It is a specific type of censorship defined by the status of both the censor and the censored.

Noun

1. military censorship of civilian communications (correspondence or printed matter of films) entering or leaving of circulating within territories controlled by armed forces