sanitize

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈsænəˌtaɪz/ UK /ˈsænɪˌtaɪz/ See IPA manual

verb

Meanings

1

verb
to make clean or free of harmful agents; to remove objectionable elements

Editors sanitized the report before releasing it to the public.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to make clean or free of... disinfectsterilize cleanse purifydecontaminateclean bowdlerize

Opposites

contaminate pollute infect dirty

Word family

Derived forms sanitizersanitizedsanitization

Related forms sanitary sanitation sanity

Etymology

Formed in English from Latin sanitas ('health') + -ize, ultimately from sanus ('healthy, sound').

sanitas Latin sanus Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

# sanitize

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** ˈsænəˌtaɪz
**IPA (UK):** ˈsænɪˌtaɪz

## Meanings
1. to make clean or free of harmful agents; to remove objectionable elements

## Examples
- Editors sanitized the report before releasing it to the public.

## Synonyms
- disinfect
- sterilize
- cleanse
- purify
- decontaminate
- clean
- bowdlerize

## Antonyms
- contaminate
- pollute
- infect
- dirty

## Derived Forms
- sanitizer
- sanitized
- sanitization

## Related Forms
- sanitary
- sanitation
- sanity

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: sanitas
- Root: sanus

## Etymology
Formed in English from Latin sanitas ('health') + -ize, ultimately from sanus ('healthy, sound').

## AI Etymology
Sanitize was formed in English from Latin sanitas ('health') + -ize, ultimately from sanus ('healthy, sound'). The historical chain includes Latin sanitas and Latin sanus. Older glosses in the chain include "health" and "healthy, sound", which help explain the semantic range of the modern word. Morphologically, sanitize is best read as compound, suffixal formation, and borrowing, yielding an English verb shaped by both form history and later usage. In current English it functions as a verb, with the sense "to make clean or free of harmful agents; to remove objectionable elements". English derivatives include sanitizer, sanitized, and sanitization; related forms include sanitary, sanitation, and sanity. The result is an English verb whose etymology preserves the older forms while supporting the word's specialized modern meaning.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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sanitize

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