sanitize
Americanverb (used with object)
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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
- sanitization noun
- unsanitized adjective
Etymology
Origin of sanitize
First recorded in 1830–40; sanit(ary) + -ize
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.
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
Ms. Rodríguez, according to sources, siphoned profits through networks of international and domestic businessmen while building PR machinery to sanitize her image.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 6, 2026
Food processing plants apply it to sanitize surfaces and equipment.
From Salon • Dec. 15, 2025
Founded by brothers Neal, Daniel, Jeffrey and Jordan Harmon, the company began as VidAngel, a service that allowed viewers to sanitize Hollywood movies by erasing sex, violence and swear words.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 11, 2025
We don’t even have time to talk except catering-teamwork talk, so while we wash and sanitize big pots and pans, she occasionally hip-bumps me and I hip-bump her back.
From "Ask the Passengers" by A.S. King
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.
