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
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
Unit 3: Compelling Evidence
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Beyond the Bright Sea
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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.
But Mr. Stern’s point is made: The effort to sanitize warfare doesn’t succeed, no matter how advanced the technology becomes.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 10, 2026
Food processing plants apply it to sanitize surfaces and equipment.
From Salon • Dec. 15, 2025
But the governing body for more than half a million young athletes must remember nothing will ever sanitize that industry.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 24, 2025
Vladeck: Two other things tend to be true when the court rushes: They tend to be more honest, because there’s less time to sanitize what they’re doing.
From Slate • May 28, 2024
And Mr. Johnson, the postmaster, had wanted to sanitize my letter before he handled it.
From "Beyond the Bright Sea" by Lauren Wolk
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.
