sanitary

American  

[san-i-ter-ee] / ˈsæn ɪˌtɛr i /

adjective

1. of or relating to health or the conditions affecting health, especially with reference to cleanliness, precautions against disease, etc.

   Synonyms:

   antiseptic, unpolluted, germfree, clean

   Antonyms:

   septic, polluted, unhealthy, unwholesome, unclean

2. favorable to health; free from dirt, bacteria, etc..

   a sanitary washroom.

   Synonyms:

   salutary, healthy, antiseptic, unpolluted, germfree, clean

   Antonyms:

   septic, polluted, unhealthy, unwholesome, unclean

3. providing healthy cleanliness.

   a sanitary wrapper on all sandwiches.

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sanitary British  

/ -trɪ, ˈsænɪtərɪ /

adjective

1. of or relating to health and measures for the protection of health

2. conducive to or promoting health; free from dirt, germs, etc; hygienic

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Related Words

Sanitary, hygienic agree in being concerned with health. Sanitary refers more especially to conditions affecting health or measures for guarding against infection or disease: to insure sanitary conditions in preparing food. Hygienic is applied to whatever concerns the care of the body and the promotion of health: to live in hygienic surroundings with plenty of fresh air.

Other Word Forms

• presanitary adjective
• sanitarily adverb
• sanitariness noun

Etymology

Origin of sanitary

First recorded in 1835–45; from Latin sānit(ās) “health” ( sanity ) + -ary

Example Sentences

Unicharm has been able to recycle these materials into products with less rigorous sanitary requirements, like toilet paper.

From Barron's • Mar. 25, 2026

Kurita and Organo are purer plays on fab buildouts; Ecolab still makes most of its money keeping restaurant kitchens sanitary, while Xylem sells a lot of municipal pumps.

From MarketWatch • Dec. 12, 2025

It also looked at a number of other allegations, including one involving a sanitary towel with the words "No Surrender" on it being placed on the head of a member of the youth team.

From BBC • Dec. 2, 2025

The court cited poor sanitary conditions at the home, and the unauthorised homeschooling of the couple's eight-year-old girl and six-year-old twin boys.

From Barron's • Nov. 24, 2025

It won’t be long now, says Cora, doling out my monthly stack of sanitary napkins.

From "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood