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antisepsis

American  
[an-tuh-sep-sis] / ˌæn təˈsɛp sɪs /

noun

  1. destruction of the microorganisms that produce sepsis or septic disease.

antisepsis British  
/ ˌæntɪˈsɛpsɪs /

noun

  1. destruction of undesirable microorganisms, such as those that cause disease or putrefaction Compare asepsis

  2. the state or condition of being free from such microorganisms

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
antisepsis Scientific  
/ ăn′tĭ-sĕp′sĭs /

  1. The destruction of pathogenic microorganisms in order to prevent infection.

Etymology

Origin of antisepsis

First recorded in 1870–75; anti- + sepsis

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

At the time, Joseph Lister’s pioneering antisepsis work in Britain was known to American doctors.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026

The tragic delay in implementing antisepsis should remind us of our obligation to see truth for what it is, regardless of the social niceties of the creative genius.

From Scientific American • Feb. 3, 2018

Conan Doyle references Lister's use of carbolic acid for antisepsis in the 1892 story 'The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb', when Watson uses it while dressing a wound.

From Nature • Sep. 19, 2017

When she was born there was no anesthesia and no antisepsis, hardly a thermometer, and no oxygen, IVs or antibiotics.

From New York Times • Mar. 3, 2014

In the earlier days of antisepsis, when operators and patients were exposed for some time to an atmosphere saturated with carbolic spray, toxic symptoms were occasionally noticed.

From Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine by Pyle, Walter L. (Walter Lytle)

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.