expunge
verb /ɪkˈspʌndʒ/
/ɪkˈspʌndʒ/
(formal)Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they expunge | /ɪkˈspʌndʒ/ /ɪkˈspʌndʒ/ |
| he / she / it expunges | /ɪkˈspʌndʒɪz/ /ɪkˈspʌndʒɪz/ |
| past simple expunged | /ɪkˈspʌndʒd/ /ɪkˈspʌndʒd/ |
| past participle expunged | /ɪkˈspʌndʒd/ /ɪkˈspʌndʒd/ |
| -ing form expunging | /ɪkˈspʌndʒɪŋ/ /ɪkˈspʌndʒɪŋ/ |
- expunge something (from something) to remove or get rid of something, such as a name, piece of information or a memory, from a book or list, or from your mind synonym erase
- Details of his criminal activities were expunged from the file.
- What happened just before the accident was expunged from his memory.
- She sought to expunge every trace of the event from her memory.
- The word ‘socialism’ has been expunged from the party’s manifesto.
Word Originearly 17th cent.: from Latin expungere ‘to underline something with points or dots, to show that it should be deleted’, from ex- ‘out’ + pungere ‘to prick’.