Definition of "expurgation" [ex•pur•ga•tion]

• The act of expurgating, purging, or cleansing; purification from anything noxious, offensive, sinful, or erroneous. (noun)

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• "For example, if you’re asked if you’ve ever been convicted, when do you still have to say “yes” (because it * did* happen), and when can you answer no since the expurgation is supposed to let you pretend it never happened?"
• "Suzman says the letter in the novel is an expurgation of how he wished he could have been with his mother."
• "Upon a closer investigation, however, it became evident that the task of expurgation would prove to be a most formidable one, and that a great mass of extraneous matter would require to be inserted in explanation of motives which were wholly personal and therefore to be omitted from the book."