prior restraint
noun
: governmental prohibition imposed on expression before the expression actually takes place
Examples of prior restraint in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The president and provost were named and sued for damages in their personal capacity due to both parties showing their involvement in prior restraint with the protest, McGivern said.
—
Lily Kepner, Austin American-Statesman, 29 Aug. 2024
That lawsuit amounts to a request for a blatantly unconstitutional prior restraint.
—Seth Stern, Orange County Register, 13 Feb. 2024
Enlarge Justin Sullivan / Staff | Getty Images North America
On Monday, the Supreme Court declined to review an appeal from X (formerly Twitter), alleging that the US government's censorship of X transparency reports served as a prior restraint on the platform's speech and was unconstitutional.
—Ashley Belanger, Ars Technica, 8 Jan. 2024
The Commission required that Mr. Musk subject himself to an unconstitutional prior restraint: preapproval of his material public communications about Tesla by a Tesla securities lawyer.
—Jon Brodkin, Ars Technica, 3 Nov. 2023
See all Example Sentences for prior restraint 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Lily Kepner, Austin American-Statesman, 29 Aug. 2024
That lawsuit amounts to a request for a blatantly unconstitutional prior restraint.
—Seth Stern, Orange County Register, 13 Feb. 2024
Enlarge Justin Sullivan / Staff | Getty Images North America
On Monday, the Supreme Court declined to review an appeal from X (formerly Twitter), alleging that the US government's censorship of X transparency reports served as a prior restraint on the platform's speech and was unconstitutional.
—Ashley Belanger, Ars Technica, 8 Jan. 2024
The Commission required that Mr. Musk subject himself to an unconstitutional prior restraint: preapproval of his material public communications about Tesla by a Tesla securities lawyer.
—Jon Brodkin, Ars Technica, 3 Nov. 2023
See all Example Sentences for prior restraint
Dictionary Entries Near prior restraint
Cite this Entry
“Prior restraint.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prior%20restraint. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share