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.
-
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
-
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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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.
See Examples For:
Her concurrence also refuses to sanitize Reconstruction into an abstract legal debate.
From Slate ● Jul. 2, 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
CBS News didn’t renew correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi’s contract, which she said was a move to penalize her for refusing to sanitize reporting.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 27, 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
And Mr. Johnson, the postmaster, had wanted to sanitize my letter before he handled it.
From "Beyond the Bright Sea" by Lauren Wolk
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
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
She hired an assistant who sanitizes the tables, outdoor bathroom and shower, and backwashes the pool between events.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 16, 2021
Today’s musician biopics are almost always overly sanitized stories approved by the artist or their estate.
From Salon ● Jul. 8, 2026
Other presidents have also sometimes behaved contrary to democratic ideals, and national memorials often present a more sanitized version of American history.
From Slate ● May 18, 2026
But now and then, something slips through the cracks, something that can’t be sanitized or ignored, no matter how much money or editing goes into it.
From Salon ● Apr. 25, 2026
My generation got a much more sanitized version of that childhood.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026
The schoolmaster, Mr. Henderson, had sanitized the door latch I’d touched.
From "Beyond the Bright Sea" by Lauren Wolk
Infantino has a gift for seduction—and sanitizing controversy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
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
Smith, who had plenty of very recent experience in the area, chastised Barkley for not sanitizing his hands before handling his doll.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2024
“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.
