bowdlerize vs abbreviate

bowdlerize and abbreviate both are verbs.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
bowdlerize	No	No	Yes	No
abbreviate	No	No	Yes	No

As verbs, abbreviate is a hypernym of bowdlerize; that is, abbreviate is a word with a broader meaning than bowdlerize:

Other hypernyms of bowdlerize include abridge, contract, cut, foreshorten, reduce, shorten.

bowdlerize (verb)	abbreviate (verb)
edit by omitting or modifying parts considered indelicate	shorten
	reduce in scope while retaining essential elements