sanitize
/ˈsænətaɪz/
"sanitize" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“sanitize” is uncommon English (frequency #58,335 among 6,566 “S” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #58,335
- frequency rank, English
- 6,566
- “S” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To rid of microorganisms by cleaning or disinfecting.
Corpus desk
Index EN-sanitize · sanitize · English
sanitize · rank #58,335 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #58,335
- LEN-LONG 8 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-DENSE 6,566
- PHOTO-FINISH Sandow
Nearest frequency peer: Sandow (-1 rank slots)
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
Frequency neighbourhood for “sanitize”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- samadhi
samadhi
41,668 corpus weight
- Sandow
Sandow
41,667 corpus weight
- sanitize
sanitize
41,666 corpus weight
- savoring
savoring
41,662 corpus weight
- scapegoating
scapegoating
41,661 corpus weight
- Schloss
Schloss
41,660 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “sanitize” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | sanitize |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ˈsænətaɪz/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #58,335 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “sanitize” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
sanitize is uncommon English at frequency #58,335 among 6,566 “S” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /ˈsænətaɪz/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 5 senses are on record.
No misspelling variants are generated for sanitize in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: From sanitary. By surface analysis, sanity + -ize. The correct English form is sanitize, spelled S-A-N-I-T-I-Z-E.
Definition
- 1To rid of microorganisms by cleaning or disinfecting.
- 2To make something, such as a dramatic work, more acceptable by removing potentially offensive material.
- 3To filter (text) to ensure it does not contain any characters that will cause problems for or be interpreted in an adverse way by the receiving system.
- 4To remove sensitive or personal data from (a database or file).
- 5To revise (a document) in order to prevent identification of the sources.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how sanitize appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Near-synonym: bowdlerize
And yet for all that, the filmmakers were in fact trying to sanitize Mitchell’s novel.
Etymology
From sanitary. By surface analysis, sanity + -ize.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "sanitize", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
What to do next
You've looked up "sanitize". Here's where to go from here.
- Usage frequency rank #58,335 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
- Browse more English words in the "S" letter cohort. S–Z browse
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PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.