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.
The strength of Tom’s narration is that it makes no effort to sanitize itself for its audience, to make Tom seem fair or attractive.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 26, 2025
There’s also the chance I didn’t sanitize my hands correctly.
From Slate • May 28, 2025
“If you get any sugar onto your glove, now, your glove is completely stuck to you. I would wash and sanitize my hands, but definitely don't put on gloves,” Vu explained.
From Salon • Mar. 25, 2025
Bertha Servin, 58, works at Mission Linen Supply in Chino, an industrial laundry where workers sanitize and iron linens, uniforms and bedding for nearby hospitals.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 29, 2024
I did so because I agree with historian Diane McWhorter that “to sanitize the language of segregation is to mute its destructive force.”
From "Educated" by Tara Westover
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.
