1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

sterilizing

verb

present participle of sterilize
as in altering

Related Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for sterilizing
  1. altering
  2. neutering
  3. castrating
  4. fixing
Verb
  • At its worst, cognitive impairment can be a horrible, life-altering disease for patient and loved ones.
    — Steve Lopez, Los Angeles Times, 23 Sep. 2026
  • Vera got her start in the industry by working on her family’s farm in Janesville, WI, altering wedding gowns for women who had polio.
    — Hannah Sacks, PEOPLE, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of altering
Verb
  • If fully enacted, the cuts would amount to as much as 30% of PTS’s budget, and strip almost all operational funding from TaiwanPlus, thereby neutering the broadcaster.
    — Ilan Berman, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026
  • And rather than trying to be, in my view, kind of smart about how to build up a Lebanese government for the purpose of disarming and neutering Hezbollah, which is definitely in Israel’s interest, Israel has been engaged in this bombardment of Lebanon.
    — David Remnick, New Yorker, 17 June 2026
Definition of neutering
Verb
  • Under colonial rule hijras were accused of acting as male prostitutes and of kidnapping and castrating children to grow their community.
    — Charles Preston, Encyclopedia Britannica, 28 May 2026
Definition of castrating
Verb
  • Instead of immediately fixing the logistics, notice your emotional reaction first.
    — Tarot.com, Baltimore Sun, 24 Sep. 2026
  • That’s actually interested in passing Farm Bills and fixing problems instead of having votes about socialist nonsense or whatever.
    — Mathew Miranda, Sacbee.com, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of fixing
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.

Browse Nearby Words

sterilizes
sterilizing
sterling
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Sterilizing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sterilizing. Accessed 26 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
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!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of confabulate

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

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

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

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 25
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
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
image of the words cracker fly and sale arranged in a triangle with the word fire in the middle
Triple Play Quiz Find the word that pairs with each of the three g...
See All