antiseptic
Americanadjective
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pertaining to or affecting antisepsis.
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free from or cleaned of germs and other microorganisms.
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exceptionally clean or neat.
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free of contamination or pollution.
noun
adjective
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of, relating to, or effecting antisepsis
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entirely free from contamination
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informal lacking spirit or excitement; clinical
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of antiseptic
Explanation
If you are out to kill some microorganisms, an antiseptic will come in handy! If you go to a hospital for a cut on your arm, the nurse will apply an antiseptic to the wound because it will kill any bacteria, while not harming your healthy skin. Antiseptic is also an adjective that describes the state of being clean and without disease-causing bacteria: "The antiseptic wash the nurse splashed over your arm was bright blue and smelled funny, but it kept your wound free of infection." Antiseptic can also describe something that is clean in a different way — as in, free of any objectionable language. A comedian's jokes could be so antiseptic that even your grandmother would like them.
Vocabulary lists containing antiseptic
Power Prefix: Anti
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300 Most Difficult "SAT" Words
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Esperanza Rising
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Amid the rebuke, brands have recoiled back within the antiseptic neutrality where they’re most comfortable: irrelevant celebrity cameos, cheap millennial nostalgia, unmoored wistfulness for simpler days.
From Slate • Feb. 8, 2026
I reclined in the exam chair as Shalom parted my hair into sections and cleansed the area with an antiseptic liquid.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 9, 2025
Though the sunshine of free speech remains the best antiseptic against poison, Mr. Carlson is more interested in the spotlight than serious debate.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 31, 2025
But these once surefire hits have never been so limp and antiseptic.
From Salon • Jul. 7, 2025
It’s more than the reinforced elevator, or the claustrophobia of being so far underground, or the caustic smell of antiseptic.
From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
