STERILIZE

sterilize, sterilise, desex, unsex, desexualize, desexualise, fix

(verb) make infertile; “in some countries, people with genetically transmissible disabilites are sterilized”

sterilize, sterilise

(verb) make free from bacteria

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Verb

sterilize (third-person singular simple present sterilizes, present participle sterilizing, simple past and past participle sterilized)

(transitive) To deprive of the ability to procreate.

(transitive) To make unable to produce; to make unprofitable.

(transitive, biology) To kill, deactivate (denature), or destroy (break apart) all living, viable microorganisms and spores on a surface, in a fluid, or contained in a compound, such as culture media or a medical product.

(transitive) To redact (a document), removing classified or sensitive material.

Anagrams

• Listerize

Source: Wiktionary

Ster"il*ize, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Sterilized; p. pr. & vb. n. Sterilizing.] Etym: [Cf. F. stériliser.]

1. To make sterile or unproductive; to impoverish, as land; to exhaust of fertility. [R.] "Sterilizing the earth." Woodward.

2. (Biol.) (a) To deprive of the power of reproducing; to render incapable of germination or fecundation; to make sterile. (b) To destroy all spores or germs in (an organic fluid or mixture), as by heat, so as to prevent the development of bacterial or other organisms.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition