sanitize

verb

san·i·tize | \ ˈsa-nə-ˌtīz

sanitized; sanitizing

Definition of sanitize

transitive verb

1 : to make sanitary (as by cleaning or sterilizing)

2 : to make more acceptable by removing unpleasant or undesired features attempts to sanitize historical accounts

Other Words from sanitize More Example Sentences Learn More about sanitize

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Examples of sanitize in a Sentence

The housekeeping staff sanitized the bathroom. They're trying to sanitize the news.

Recent Examples on the Web

To progressives, such critics have sanitized King’s legacy, erasing its radical elements to avoid acknowledging persistent racial inequality. — Coleman Hughes, WSJ, "Martin Luther King, Colorblind Radical," 17 Jan. 2019 So, is Home Alone just a US knockoff, sanitized for American tastes? — Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, "Dial Code: Santa Claus is our new favorite holiday cult classic," 24 Dec. 2018 Obviously, sanitizing cutting boards is a no-brainer but even that doesn't always keep strong onion and garlic smells at bay. — Amanda Garrity, Good Housekeeping, "How to Get Rid of Unwanted Odors in Your House," 29 Nov. 2018 Still, Walsh got his client to pull himself together and sanitize his image (if not his conduct). — Katherine A. Powers, WSJ, "‘The Big Fella’ Review: American Hit Parade," 5 Oct. 2018 The easiest way to sanitize is to make a bleach solution of 1 tablespoon of bleach in a gallon of water and soak everything in there for at least 20 minutes, or put that solution inside anything that can’t be soaked (your fermentation vessels). — Casey Johnston, Ars Technica, "Store-bought is not enough: My first hard cider homebrew," 22 Nov. 2018 Should this trend continue, our nation would be sanitized of any sort of symbol that speaks of our forebearers’ lives and culture, of what marked the greater good in their time and still, perhaps, ours. — WSJ, "Remove Military Cemetery Markers As Well?," 18 Oct. 2018 Microsoft’s Bing search engine still sanitizes Chinese language search results, nearly a decade after The New York Times first reported on it. — Shannon Liao, The Verge, "China is making the internet less free, and US tech companies are helping," 2 Nov. 2018 First, to create the lactic acid sourness, Spangalang boils the wort (unfermented liquid with sugars from the barley) for just 10 minutes to sanitize it. — Matt Allyn, Popular Mechanics, "How The Perfect Pickle Beer Is Made," 18 Oct. 2016

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'sanitize.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.