antiseptic
/ˌæntiˈsɛptɪk/adjective, noun
antiseptic is an adjective meaning “Of or relating to antisepsis or the use of antiseptics” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). It is spelled A-N-T-I-S-E-P-T-I-C and has 4 syllables, and it appears about once in every 2 million words in written English (wordfreq, 2021 data).
What does antiseptic mean?
adjective
- 1
Of or relating to antisepsis or the use of antiseptics.
- 2
Capable of preventing microbial infection.
- 3
Very clean; aseptic.
- 4
Free of unpleasantness; prim, sanitized or bowdlerized.
noun
- 1
Any substance that inhibits the growth and reproduction of microorganisms. Generally includes only those that are used on living objects (as opposed to disinfectants) and aren't transported by the lymphatic system to destroy bacteria in the body (as opposed to antibiotics).
Wiktionary also records antiseptic as a common misspelling of another word in some uses; the senses above are its own.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you pronounce antiseptic?
- /ˌæntiˈsɛptɪk/
Antiseptic has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-antiseptic.oga, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of antiseptic
- more antiseptic comparative
- most antiseptic superlative
- antiseptics plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How common is antiseptic?
Antiseptic appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 36,565th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Antiseptic in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | antiseptique |
| German | antiseptisch , Antiseptikum |
| Portuguese | antisséptico |
| Spanish | antiséptico , aséptico |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does antiseptic come from?
From anti- + septic.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).