What does expunge mean?
To expunge something is to erase it completely — to strike it out so thoroughly that it ceases to exist where it once stood. The verb applies most often to records and documents: courts can expunge criminal convictions, schools may expunge disciplinary entries, and editors expunge errors from manuscripts. It also extends metaphorically to intangibles, as when someone tries to expunge a painful memory or a lingering sense of shame. The word carries a formal, deliberate tone, suggesting an official act of removal rather than casual deletion, and it almost always appears with the preposition 'from', naming the record or mind being cleansed. Its lineage traces back to the Latin 'expungere', meaning to prick out marks on a writing tablet — a vivid reminder that erasing was once a physical act of puncturing wax. For writers and readers alike, 'expunge' remains the precise, authoritative choice whenever total, permanent removal is meant.
verbTo erase, delete, or strike out completely, especially a record, entry, name, or memory, so that it no longer exists in its former place.
- To erase or remove something completely from a record, document, or list.
- To eliminate or wipe out something intangible, such as a memory, feeling, or stigma.
"After completing his rehabilitation program, he petitioned to have the conviction expunged from his record."
"The court agreed to expunge the misdemeanor from her official record."
"Years of therapy could not fully expunge the guilt he carried."
The word 'expunge' comes from Latin 'expungere' — literally to prick out points from a written tablet, because Roman scribes erased mistakes by dotting them with a stylus until the wax could be smoothed away.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of expunge
Expunge derives from the Latin 'expungere', formed from 'ex-' (out) and 'pungere' (to prick or pierce), originally describing how scribes pricked dots through characters on wax tablets before smoothing them away. The word passed into English in the early seventeenth century, retaining both its literal sense of striking out written matter and its figurative extension to memories and reputations. It shares its root with words such as 'pungent', 'puncture', and 'point', all descendants of the same piercing Latin verb.
Related word forms
How expunge is actually used
Formal to semi-formal register; common in legal contexts (records, convictions) and rhetorical or literary contexts when speaking of memories or disgrace. Typically used with the preposition 'from' indicating what is being removed from where.
Easily confused with expunge
Expunge means to erase something entirely from records or memory, while expurgate means to remove objectionable content from a text or publication.
Expunge removes an entry or record, whereas expiate means to make amends or atone for wrongdoing.