sanitize
Americanverb (used with object)
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to free from dirt, germs, etc., as by cleaning or sterilizing.
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to make less offensive by eliminating anything unwholesome, objectionable, incriminating, etc..
to sanitize a document before releasing it to the press.
verb
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to make sanitary or hygienic, as by sterilizing
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to omit unpleasant details from (a news report, document, etc) to make it more palatable to the recipients
Other Word Forms
- sanitization noun
- unsanitized adjective
Etymology
Origin of sanitize
First recorded in 1830–40; sanit(ary) + -ize
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.
“Broadcasters should not feel pressured to water down, sanitize, or avoid critical coverage out of fear of regulatory retaliation.”
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 21, 2026
Ms. Rodríguez, according to sources, siphoned profits through networks of international and domestic businessmen while building PR machinery to sanitize her image.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 6, 2026
There’s also the chance I didn’t sanitize my hands correctly.
From Slate • May 28, 2025
Health care providers in Kenya have reported turning away women seeking reliable long-term contraception like implants and IUDs, as well as women actively in labor, because they cannot sanitize the health facility.
From Salon • Apr. 27, 2024
I did so because I agree with historian Diane McWhorter that “to sanitize the language of segregation is to mute its destructive force.”
From "Educated" by Tara Westover
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.
