kʌt dɪˈliːʃən ɪkˈsɪʒən əˈmɪʃən oʊˈmɪʃən the act of deleting something written or printed the omission that is made when an editorial change shortens a written passage an editor's deletions frequently upset young authors both parties agreed on the excision of the proposed clause (genetics) the loss or absence of one or more nucleotides from a chromosome any process whereby sounds or words are left out of spoken words or phrases