sterilize

verb

Definition of sterilizenext
as in to alter

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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 sterilize Many palms are declining due to diseases; sterilize pruners between palms to prevent the spread. — Tom MacCubbin, The Orlando Sentinel, 27 June 2026 Always sterilize your tools before pruning to prevent spreading diseases and avoid removing too many green leaves at once. — Madeline Buiano, Martha Stewart, 26 June 2026 Boiling Clothes Won't Get Them Cleaner In the past, when options for doing laundry were more limited, boiling fabrics to sterilize and clean them was a common practice. — Jolie Kerr, Better Homes & Gardens, 21 June 2026 Researchers raise the flies by the millions, sterilize the males with radiation, and release them in overwhelming numbers. — Ethan Stone, AZCentral.com, 17 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for sterilize
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sterilize
  1. alter
  2. neuter
  3. castrate
  4. emasculate
  5. fix
Verb
  • His tenure—cut short by his untimely death from cardiac angiosarcoma in 2021, at 41—permanently altered the conversation about whom luxury is for and who gets to make it.
    — Robb Report, Robb Report, 9 Oct. 2026
  • Meteorologists say Isaias’s late formation is largely because of the presence of El Niño, a pattern of unusually warm ocean waters in the eastern Pacific Ocean that can alter weather patterns across the planet.
    — Jackie Flynn Mogensen, Scientific American, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of alter
Verb
  • While Israel’s attacks on the agency neutered its role coordinating aid entry and distribution in Gaza, UNRWA’s core programs have remained.
    — Julia Frankel, Los Angeles Times, 25 Sep. 2026
  • Caring for them opened the couple’s eyes to the number of cats living outdoors in their neighborhood and how few had been spayed or neutered.
    — Meg Dunn, CNN Money, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of neuter
Verb
  • This is the league, remember, where a man (Harvey Updyke) confessed to poisoning the trees at Auburn on a radio show after Alabama lost to the Tigers, and a coach (Jackie Sherrill at Mississippi State) castrated a bull to motivate his squad.
    — Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 4 Sep. 2026
  • Those expectations got castrated because of last season’s early struggles.
    — Omar Kelly, Miami Herald, 24 July 2026
Definition of castrate
Verb
  • Under Republican control, the House of Representatives has been emasculated.
    — Linh Tat, Oc Register, 5 May 2026
  • No matter what agenda the president espoused—the economic pragmatism of Rafsanjani, the liberal aspirations of Mohammad Khatami, the populist provocations of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the nuclear diplomacy of Hassan Rouhani—Khamenei emasculated him.
    — Karim Sadjadpour, The Atlantic, 28 Feb. 2026
Definition of emasculate
Verb
  • Sparing no detail, as my spaghetti arrived, my waiter fixed a bib over my dress to protect it from rogue splatters.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 9 Oct. 2026
  • The perfect cover is the leaky ceiling in Melinda and Flora’s house, which needs to get fixed.
    — Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of fix

Browse Nearby Words

sterility
sterilize
sterilized
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Cite this Entry

“Sterilize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sterilize. Accessed 10 Oct. 2026.

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