sanitize

verb

Definition of sanitizenext
1
as in to disinfect

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Dissimilar Words
2
as in to romanticize

Related Words

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 sanitize To sanitize the dishes, spray with hydrogen peroxide and wait 10 minutes before rinsing. — Mary Marlowe Leverette, The Spruce, 2 Aug. 2026 Plush toys and squeezy bath toys may be impossible to sanitize, so skip bringing those home. — Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 1 Aug. 2026 For this reason, vinegar is often used as an all-natural cleaning product to brighten laundry, sanitize bathtubs and showers, deodorize trash cans, and so much more. — Madeline Buiano, Martha Stewart, 31 July 2026 Cyclospora is resistant to the chlorine and sanitizers commonly used to sanitize fresh produce, and routine washing may not completely remove the parasite. — Lisa Cuchara, The Conversation, 29 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for sanitize
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sanitize
  1. disinfect
  2. romanticize
  3. decontaminate
  4. sugarcoat
  5. purge
  6. idealize
  7. purify
  8. intensify
Verb
  • However, cleaning experts emphasize its limitations; vinegar lacks the capability to disinfect certain germs and bacteria effectively.
    — Kate Van Pelt, The Spruce, 18 Aug. 2026
  • Disinfect your footwear To disinfect footwear, thoroughly wash the outside of the shoe.
    — BestReviews, Chicago Tribune, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of disinfect
Verb
  • The fact that such men are in short supply, and that this romanticized myth didn’t even remotely compare with the lives such men actually lived, is of little concern to today’s masculinists.
    — Michael Kimmel, Time, 15 Aug. 2026
  • YouTube | Overcast | Pocket Casts Gen Z has romanticized the technology of the ’90s—or the era’s lack of it.
    — Jinae West, The Atlantic, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of romanticize
Verb
  • Those exhibiting suspicious symptoms had samples taken and sent to a laboratory for analysis, the ministry said on Saturday, adding that the vessel was also decontaminated.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 9 Aug. 2026
  • Even considering the persistence and peril of anthrax, Stewart reckons that the British government did properly decontaminate the island.
    — RJ Mackenzie, Popular Science, 5 Aug. 2026
Definition of decontaminate
Verb
  • His prose radiates an ecstatic pessimism, as if lit up from within by the relief of not having to sugarcoat things with comforting lies.
    — Peter C. Baker, New Yorker, 5 Aug. 2026
  • Her refusal to sugarcoat the interior and exterior lives of her characters, whether enslaved or traumatized by the past — by events in American history — was purposeful.
    — Leigh Haber, Los Angeles Times, 2 July 2026
Definition of sugarcoat
Verb
  • But both would purge the coterie of advisers around Zelensky, who many of the Ukrainian president’s critics believe are responsible for bad decisions, and whiff of corruption.
    — Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 19 Aug. 2026
  • The states also want Meta to prevent children under 13 from accessing Facebook and Instagram, delete personal information collected from those users and purge algorithms and artificial intelligence models trained on their data.
    — Ethan Baron, Mercury News, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of purge
Verb
  • Gen Z’s frustration with wealth concentration is well-documented culturally, yet the #OldMoney aesthetic idealizes the visual language of precisely the fortune-building class its politics often criticize.
    — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 14 Aug. 2026
  • In these photographs, the maternal body enters spaces designed around seduction, aspiration, and idealized femininity without renouncing any of them.
    — Alessia Glaviano, Vogue, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of idealize
Verb
  • But what if the water and nutrients could be purified from whey permeate and used for other purposes?
    — Idaho Statesman, Idaho Statesman, 17 Aug. 2026
  • Once hydrogen is flowing from the ground, how will the gas be purified?
    — IEEE Spectrum, IEEE Spectrum, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of purify
Verb
  • Clashes have intensified near the Bab al-Mandeb strait, a key maritime chokepoint, in recent weeks after the Houthis declared a blockade of Saudi shipping in the Red Sea.
    — Hanna Ziady, CNN Money, 18 Aug. 2026
  • Nearly all the survivors have returned to Morocco, and both countries have intensified security measures.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of intensify

Browse Nearby Words

sanitary landfills
sanitize
sanitized
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Cite this Entry

“Sanitize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sanitize. Accessed 24 Aug. 2026.

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