Skip to content
WORDS, MADE CLEAR.
Your everyday English companion

Home/Dictionary/sanitization
English dictionary

sanitization Meaning & Definition

ˈsa-nə-ˌtīz

What Does Sanitization Mean?

As a verb, sanitization means to reduce or eliminate pathogenic agents (such as bacteria) on the surfaces of (something). It can also mean to make (something, such as text) more acceptable by removing, hiding, or minimizing any unpleasant, undesirable, or unfavorable parts.

Sanitization in Brief

Part of speechverb
Pronunciation/ˈsa-nə-ˌtīz/
Syllables3
Synonymssanitation, sanitisation and sanitizing
First known use1836

Sanitization Definition (Verb)

  1. to reduce or eliminate pathogenic agents (such as bacteria) on the surfaces of (something) : to make (something) sanitary (as by cleaning or disinfecting)

    You can use sponges and dishcloths safely if you take care to sanitize them, says Dean Cliver, a professor of food safety at the University of California, Davis. / City Sanitarian Lauri Sorel said no soot was found and restaurants only had to sanitize food service surfaces with a mixture of bleach and water. / He had every store and delivery truck sanitized, and he set up a department to make unannounced health inspections of stores, vowing to temporarily shut down any slackers for cleanup.

  2. to make (something, such as text) more acceptable by removing, hiding, or minimizing any unpleasant, undesirable, or unfavorable parts

    The memories—and memoirs—of former intelligence hands tend to be selective as well as sanitized, either by the author or by some form of official censorship or both, and the historian must be wary. / They were also forced to sanitize reports that might show early church leaders or the official doctrine in a dim light. / Once "friended" by a colleague, people feel compelled to employ privacy features—which itself can be a snub—or to sanitize their online profiles—which is akin to hiding something under the bed. / Published in Munich in 1987, the diaries are a major tool of that school of historians whose purpose is to relativize, normalize, sanitize the crimes of the Third Reich. / And the movie sanitizes his behavior as well. (It manages to suggest that he's a philanderer without ever once showing him with another woman.) / … civilian casualties are referred to as "collateral damage"—a stunningly abstract and sanitized way to refer to mangled human bodies.

Synonyms of Sanitization

Sanitization synonyms and antonyms →

Sanitization in a Sentence

You can use sponges and dishcloths safely if you take care to sanitize them, says Dean Cliver, a professor of food safety at the University of California, Davis.

City Sanitarian Lauri Sorel said no soot was found and restaurants only had to sanitize food service surfaces with a mixture of bleach and water.

He had every store and delivery truck sanitized, and he set up a department to make unannounced health inspections of stores, vowing to temporarily shut down any slackers for cleanup.

The memories—and memoirs—of former intelligence hands tend to be selective as well as sanitized, either by the author or by some form of official censorship or both, and the historian must be wary.

They were also forced to sanitize reports that might show early church leaders or the official doctrine in a dim light.

Once "friended" by a colleague, people feel compelled to employ privacy features—which itself can be a snub—or to sanitize their online profiles—which is akin to hiding something under the bed.

Published in Munich in 1987, the diaries are a major tool of that school of historians whose purpose is to relativize, normalize, sanitize the crimes of the Third Reich.

And the movie sanitizes his behavior as well. (It manages to suggest that he's a philanderer without ever once showing him with another woman.)

… civilian casualties are referred to as "collateral damage"—a stunningly abstract and sanitized way to refer to mangled human bodies.

You can use sponges and dishcloths safely if you take care to sanitize them, says Dean Cliver, a professor of food safety at the University of California, Davis. / City Sanitarian Lauri Sorel said no soot was found and restaurants only had to sanitize food service surfaces with a mixture of bleach and water. / He had every store and delivery truck sanitized, and he set up a department to make unannounced health inspections of stores, vowing to temporarily shut down any slackers for cleanup.

The memories—and memoirs—of former intelligence hands tend to be selective as well as sanitized, either by the author or by some form of official censorship or both, and the historian must be wary. / They were also forced to sanitize reports that might show early church leaders or the official doctrine in a dim light. / Once "friended" by a colleague, people feel compelled to employ privacy features—which itself can be a snub—or to sanitize their online profiles—which is akin to hiding something under the bed. / Published in Munich in 1987, the diaries are a major tool of that school of historians whose purpose is to relativize, normalize, sanitize the crimes of the Third Reich. / And the movie sanitizes his behavior as well. (It manages to suggest that he's a philanderer without ever once showing him with another woman.) / … civilian casualties are referred to as "collateral damage"—a stunningly abstract and sanitized way to refer to mangled human bodies.

Word Forms & Grammar

san·i·tized

san·i·tiz·ing

san·i·ti·za·tion noun

sanitization

sanitizations

sanitize

sanitized

sanitizes

sanitizing

sanitization (countable and uncountable, plural sanitizations)

Words That Rhyme With Sanitization

Origin of Sanitization

Origin 1: Latin sanitas

Origin 2: From sanitize + -ation.

First Known Use

1836

Sanitization Pronunciation

The standard pronunciation of sanitization is /ˈsa-nə-ˌtīz/, spoken in 3 syllables, with the main stress on the first syllable (sa).

More About Sanitization On Meaning Stash

More Words Starting With “Sani”

Merriam-WebsterReference content from Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate® Dictionary and Collegiate® Thesaurus © Merriam-Webster Inc.Data credits & licensing