disinfect

verb

Definition of disinfectnext
as in to sanitize

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of disinfect Clean and disinfect your pruning shears between working on each plant by dipping them into a dilute 10% solution of chlorine bleach water or rubbing alcohol. — Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 4 July 2026 Then remove goggles, head cover and respirator, disinfect the goggles, toss the respirator and wash hands again. — Ryan Brennan, Kansas City Star, 1 July 2026 Also, disinfect any surface areas in your home that come into contact with the formula. — Sarah Scott, Parents, 15 June 2026 Their acidic oils can adjust soil pH, repel pests, and even disinfect gardening tools. — Natalia Gonzalez Blanco Serrano, The Spruce, 7 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for disinfect
Recent Examples of Synonyms for disinfect
  1. sanitize
  2. decontaminate
  3. purify
  4. wipe
  5. purge
  6. scrub
  7. clean
  8. rinse
Verb
  • Clean and sanitize cutting boards and tools used with fresh produce.
    — Janet Loehrke, USA Today, 7 July 2026
  • The agency advised retail delis to clean and sanitize their food and surfaces and to discard open deli products if the deli housed the headcheese.
    — Chiara Kim, PEOPLE, 29 June 2026
Definition of sanitize
Verb
  • The traditional boundaries between work and life dissolved as workers tried to maintain productivity through economic upheaval, all while decontaminating groceries and managing their children’s online classes.
    — Tess Lawrence, Harvard Business Review, 1 July 2026
  • The wire seals certify a vessel had either been decontaminated and inspected for invasive species or was last launched in the Lake Tahoe basin, agency officials said in a news release.
    — Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 26 June 2026
Definition of decontaminate
Verb
  • Next, the raw material is handed over to Talga Group, a specialist firm that purifies the recycled feedstock into pristine, battery-grade graphite.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 7 July 2026
  • And here, the researchers simply purified the translation machinery and supplied it to the SpudCells.
    — ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 2 July 2026
Definition of purify
Verb
  • Messi, visibly emotional, removed his shirt to wipe tears from his eyes.
    — Charna Flam, PEOPLE, 8 July 2026
  • Too little regulation could allow the unleashing of devilish AI that might wipe us out or at least be horrendously destructive.
    — Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 7 July 2026
Definition of wipe
Verb
  • Irina and Raskova will enjoy a long, successful professional collaboration, purging Star City of traitors and threats and bringing down Petrovsky in a plot that leads to his ending his life in ignominy, having confessed to crimes against the state.
    — Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 10 July 2026
  • In April, the music streaming service Deezer reported that 44% of all new music on its platform was AI-generated, while Spotify purged some 75 million spam tracks from its platform in September.
    — Rachel DeSantis, PEOPLE, 10 July 2026
Definition of purge
Verb
  • People are also being told that firm fruits and vegetables, like melons and cucumbers, need to be scrubbed with a produce brush.
    — Steven Yablonski, CBS News, 13 July 2026
  • Additionally, firm fruits and vegetables with a rind -- such as melons, cucumbers or squash -- should be scrubbed firmly with a clean produce brush.
    — Kelly McCarthy, ABC News, 13 July 2026
Definition of scrub
Verb
  • Then, cleaning robots would handle waste detection and room upkeep using AI.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 5 July 2026
  • As volunteers fanned out Sunday to clean debris from the beach, leaders blamed social media and out-of-state youths for fueling disorder and pledged a full post-holiday safety review.
    — Andrea Flores, Los Angeles Times, 5 July 2026
Definition of clean
Verb
  • Wipe away the residue with a damp microfiber cloth, rinsing it often.
    — Mary Marlowe Leverette, The Spruce, 11 July 2026
  • Once the bacteria have been removed, thoroughly rinsing and drying surfaces as much as possible helps slow their return.
    — Jessica Safavimehr, Southern Living, 9 July 2026
Definition of rinse

Browse Nearby Words

disinclined
disinfect
disinfectant
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Disinfect.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/disinfect. Accessed 15 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on disinfect

Nglish: Translation of disinfect for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 10
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
banana-mirrored
Contradictory Words Quiz Pick out which word means one thing…and the opp...
See All