antisepsis

American  

[an-tuh-sep-sis] / ˌæn təˈsɛp sɪs /

noun

1. destruction of the microorganisms that produce sepsis or septic disease.

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antisepsis British  

/ ˌæntɪˈsɛpsɪs /

noun

1. destruction of undesirable microorganisms, such as those that cause disease or putrefaction Compare asepsis

2. the state or condition of being free from such microorganisms

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antisepsis Scientific  

/ ăn′tĭ-sĕp′sĭs /

1. The destruction of pathogenic microorganisms in order to prevent infection.

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Etymology

Origin of antisepsis

First recorded in 1870–75; anti- + sepsis

Example Sentences

At the time, Joseph Lister’s pioneering antisepsis work in Britain was known to American doctors.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026

It should also be said that Lister's contribution wasn't his discovery of antisepsis; rather it was his application of germ theory to medical practice through the systematic implementation of antisepsis.

From Scientific American • Feb. 3, 2018

Conan Doyle references Lister's use of carbolic acid for antisepsis in the 1892 story 'The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb', when Watson uses it while dressing a wound.

From Nature • Sep. 19, 2017

When she was born there was no anesthesia and no antisepsis, hardly a thermometer, and no oxygen, IVs or antibiotics.

From New York Times • Mar. 3, 2014

Operations upon the gastrointestinal tract have been so improved in the modern era of antisepsis that at the present day they are quite common.

From Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine by Pyle, Walter L. (Walter Lytle)

Related Words

• purification
• sanitation
• sterilization
• washing