sanitize

especially British, san·i·tise

[san-i-tahyz]

verb (used with object)

sanitized, sanitizing 

1. to free from dirt, germs, etc., as by cleaning or sterilizing.

2. to make less offensive by eliminating anything unwholesome, objectionable, incriminating, etc..

   to sanitize a document before releasing it to the press.

sanitize

/ ˈsænɪˌtaɪz /

verb

1. to make sanitary or hygienic, as by sterilizing

2. to omit unpleasant details from (a news report, document, etc) to make it more palatable to the recipients

Other Word Forms

• sanitization noun
• unsanitized adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of sanitize¹

First recorded in 1830–40; sanit(ary) + -ize

Example Sentences

Online commentators and some customers accused the company of sanitizing its image and taking the charm out of its restaurants.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

At its worst, Orange County appears to be nouveau-riche snobbish, insecure, artificially flavored and colored, vapid, priggish and drearily sanitized.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

As rapidly as the grizzly video of his killing circulated online, many across the political landscape worked to sanitize his legacy of inflammatory rhetoric without interrogating his actual arguments.

Read more on Salon

Democratic Congress members accused ICE of sanitizing a downtown L.A. processing facility ahead of their visit to inspect.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

“These latest attempts to sanitize and reshape history to fit a narrow ideological narrative amount to nothing less than the erasure of history,” said JANM’s President and Chief Executive Ann Burroughs.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• decontaminate 
• disinfect