sanitize
Americanverb (used with object)
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sanitizes,
present (3rd person singular)
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sanitized,
past participle, past
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sanitizing
present participle
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to free from dirt, germs, etc., as by cleaning or sterilizing.
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to make less offensive by eliminating anything unwholesome, objectionable, incriminating, etc..
to sanitize a document before releasing it to the press.
verb
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to make sanitary or hygienic, as by sterilizing
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to omit unpleasant details from (a news report, document, etc) to make it more palatable to the recipients
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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sanitizesimple
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sanitizessimple
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have sanitizedperfect
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has sanitizedperfect
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am sanitizingprogressive
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are sanitizingprogressive
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is sanitizingprogressive
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have been sanitizingperfect progressive
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has been sanitizingperfect progressive
Past
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sanitizedsimple
-
had sanitizedperfect
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was sanitizingprogressive
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were sanitizingprogressive
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had been sanitizingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of sanitize
First recorded in 1830–40; sanit(ary) + -ize
Explanation
To sanitize something is to make it extremely clean. After watching you play with your slobbery dog, your fastidious friend might insist that you sanitize your hands before sitting down to dinner. When you clean or sterilize something, particularly for reasons of good health (like not spreading germs), you can say that you sanitize it. You can also use this verb in a figurative way, whenever you "clean" something: "She doesn't want to risk alienating her audience, so she sanitizes her speech to remove anything that might offend them." The Latin root is sanitas, "health."
Vocabulary lists containing sanitize
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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.
See Examples For:
Mr. Paré-Poupart doesn’t ever sanitize his job, and his book is replete with descriptions of how unappealing its conditions and circumstances are.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026
“I think it was a deliberate choice to penalize a journalist for refusing to sanitize accurate reporting,” Alfonsi told the New York Times of her firing.
From Salon ● Jun. 1, 2026
In the face of efforts to erase or sanitize the uncomfortable history of our country, confronting this past is more important than ever.
From Slate ● Mar. 30, 2026
“Broadcasters should not feel pressured to water down, sanitize, or avoid critical coverage out of fear of regulatory retaliation.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 21, 2026
Isn’t that what you use to sanitize our toilets?
From "Beauty Queens" by Libba Bray
Jolie’s voice has been slightly mixed with Callas’ in such a way that it ever so slightly sanitizes Callas’.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 14, 2024
It uses an automated bin return that sanitizes trays with germ-killing ultraviolet light between users.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 6, 2024
She sanitizes her hands and turns to a staffer with a request.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 13, 2022
Episodes emphasize a brightness and zest to overpower the shades of blue written into Lancashire's character, an approach that also sanitizes the battles women like Bradford's Alice Naman had to fight.
From Salon ● Mar. 31, 2022
It cleans its contaminated sewage with an anaerobic reactor that sanitizes by biological means.
From New York Times ● Dec. 21, 2021
Workers had cleared out and sanitized the eastern freezer, which was largely destroyed in the fire, earlier in the cleanup process.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2026
Amid ongoing concerns, district officials have assured parents schools are safe, campuses have been sanitized and high-grade air filters installed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
Some passages have a sanitized quality to them.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
Today’s musician biopics are almost always overly sanitized stories approved by the artist or their estate.
From Salon ● Jul. 8, 2026
They actually thought about handing their winnings over to some certified, qualified, sanitized, honest-to-God professional investor to run the money for them.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
Then, once the athletes are sitting comfortably, he recommends they use sanitizing wipes to clean any areas they might touch: the seat belt, arm rests, air nozzle.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2025
Years ago, Douthat might have been accused of sanitizing the figures who appear on his podcast or of providing intellectual cover to the legitimately unhinged.
From Slate ● Oct. 7, 2025
Crews have been removing more than 10 tons of debris and sanitizing campuses.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 16, 2025
“This comes in the form of communications and branding standards. Is that going to be the next frontier in sanitizing the realities of our differences? ”
From Seattle Times ● May 24, 2024
The puff of cold sanitizing air made Coal shiver, and his skin wavered into view, then became transparent again.
From "Boy 2.0" by Tracey Baptiste
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
