Sanitize

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /ˈsænətaɪz/

Definitions

1. To eliminate harmful microorganisms and unwanted residues from a surface or object for the sake of health and cleanliness
2. To clean an area or object thoroughly to remove germs and contaminants ; to modify information or material to remove content that might be offensive or inappropriate
3. To reduce or remove bacteria and impurities for health purposes ; to alter text, images, or speech so it becomes acceptable to a broader or more sensitive audience

Etymology: "Sanitize" is a back-formation from "sanitary," which entered English in the 1790s. Its earliest sense was hygienic, from the French "sanitaire" and the Latin "sanitas," meaning health. Sanitary was coined in the context of public health and cleanliness, and the verb followed from it, meaning to make something clean or free of disease-causing agents. The verb's later sense, to strip material of content that might offend, is a figurative extension of that cleansing idea. Removing dirt and removing objectionable material both involve taking out what is unwanted, so the same verb moved from germs to words and images. The word is often mistaken for a derivative of "sanity," and the surface analysis of sanity plus "-ize" can seem plausible. The actual route runs through "sanitary," so the health sense came first and the connection to sanity is coincidental.

Synonyms: clean, sterilize, purify, disinfect, decontaminate

Antonyms: contaminate, pollute, dirty, infect, soil