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Glite Dictionary
🤔 To forget suddenly 📝 To hide information
to blank out

to blank out

1 6.4
To remove words or other information from a document to hide them
  • phrasal verb
  • /blæŋk aʊt/
  • Literature
translation icon : censurar
  • He sat back to watch Ariel's white image grow larger in the screens, blanking out the stars.

Just give a sentence and continue it, or give a sentence and there's a gap in it, some words blanked out and you fill in what words go there.

Examples

  • To ensure privacy, they blanked out the personal details in the survey results.

  • Why are we trying to pretend the Russian people themselves, including this tennis player, are to blame and that the blanking out of this flag means anything at all?

  • Just give a sentence and continue it, or give a sentence and there's a gap in it, some words blanked out and you fill in what words go there.

    Lex Fridman

  • The editor decided to blank out sensitive information in the report before publishing it.

  • Before the document was released, the lawyer blanked out all the confidential details.

Synonyms

to erase
vsto blank out
144 1.6

Remove marks, writing, or digital files so they are no longer visible

is specifically about hiding or removing information in documents for sensitive or political reasons
to cut out
vsto blank out
77 3.2

To remove a shape from paper or cloth using scissors

is focused on hiding or obscuring words for sensitivity rather than physical cutting
to redact
vsto blank out
  • Formal
35 7.5

Change a text to make it clearer or remove private information

is focused on hiding content often for political or sensitive reasons
to excise
vsto blank out
  • Formal
14 7.2

To cut out part of a body or text

may instead obscure or hide information rather than fully removing it
to cross out
vsto blank out
14 2.3

Draw a line through a word or item to show it should be removed

instead hides or removes content often to prevent sensitive information being seen
to black out
vsto blank out
12 6.1

To hide information so people cannot see it

typically removes or obscures words within a document for sensitivity
to edit out
vsto blank out
11 3.2

Remove part of a film, recording, or text before release

is aimed at hiding or removing content in documents often for sensitivity
to blot out
vsto blank out
8 5.4

Hide something so you cannot see it or remember it

often simply removes or obscures words or information without erasing memory
to strike out
vsto blank out
8 3.7

Remove a name or item from a list by drawing a line through it

is used to hide or obscure words or information for sensitive or political reasons
to white out
vsto blank out
  • US
1 3.9

To cover writing with white fluid so it cannot be seen

uses removal or obscuring more generally not only with correction fluid
to blue-pencil
vsto blank out
1 8.0

Remove parts of a text to hide sensitive information

is done to hide or obscure information for political reasons

Antonyms

to reveal
∞ 2.3

Show something that was hidden or secret

to disclose
234 4.1

To tell people information that was secret

How Visible

to blank out
  • Literature
1 6.4
to redact
  • Formal
35 7.5
to obliterate
71 7.5

Surface Forms

blank out infinitive
blanked out past
blanked out past participle
blanking out present participle
blanks out third person singular

Morphology

blank + out

The sense 'to remove or obscure words/information' is directly compositional from 'blank' (make empty or remove content) plus the particle 'out' (completely/remove), following a common English verb + particle pattern. This construction is predictable for learners who know the base meanings, so the MWE is immediately inferable without prior exposure.

Etymology

Blank out comes from the idea of covering words with black ink or leaving a space so they cannot be read, like making the paper blank. That's why it means 'to remove or hide information'.