antiseptic
/ˌæntiˈsɛptɪk/
antiseptic adjective: of or relating to antisepsis or the use of antiseptics. Also the deliberate misspelling of antisemitic.
Adjective
antiseptic (comparative more antiseptic, superlative most antiseptic)
- Of or relating to antisepsis or the use of antiseptics.
- Capable of preventing microbial infection.
- Very clean; aseptic.
- Free of unpleasantness; prim, sanitized or bowdlerized.
- This judicious representation of brutality, domestic violence and struggle empowers women trying to break the shame and fear propagated by the antiseptic whitewashing of conventional media.1991 May 4, Mary Dowd, “Risky Business”, in Gay Community News, page 7
- Forget all those Christmas cards with their ideal scenarios and antiseptic smiles. Stables are filthy and they stink[…]2001, John Allen, A Touch of Uncertainty
Noun
antiseptic (countable and uncountable, plural antiseptics)
- 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).
- Wiping down surfaces with antiseptic, avoiding handshakes, and foregoing the kiss on the cheeks popular in Europe, are suggestions from world health bodies in response to the new virus.2020 March 5, Daniel Kaplan, “Could coronavirus stop sports rituals from autographs to tennis handshakes?”, in The Athletic, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from...
Also used as
antiseptic is also the deliberate misspelling of antisemitic.
antiseptic meaning in Urdu, Tagalog, Arabic and Indonesian
antiseptic in Urdu
- capable of preventing microbial infection
- جراثیم کُش jaraseem kush
antiseptic in Tagalog
- substance that inhibits the growth of microorganisms
- panlanggas
antiseptic in Arabic
- substance that inhibits the growth of microorganisms
- مُعَقِّمٌ muʕaqqimun
antiseptic in Indonesian
- substance that inhibits the growth of microorganisms
- antiseptik, pratijangkit
Examples of antiseptic in a sentence
- [Chief Justice John] Roberts got criticism for what some perceived as his relatively brief and antiseptic description of the events of Jan. 6, 2021, in his majority opinion in Fischer v.2024 July 1, Mark Walsh, “A dramatic last day in the courtroom”, in SCOTUSblog, archived from the original on 02 Aug 2024:
- J.G.G.]—an unsigned opinion from the Court’s conservative bloc, minus Amy Coney Barrett—is strangely antiseptic.2025 April 9, Quinta Jurecic, “What, Exactly, Is the Supreme Court Thinking?”, in The Atlantic, archived from the original on 09 Apr 2025:
Forms of antiseptic
| Adjective | |
|---|---|
| comparative | more antiseptic |
| superlative | most antiseptic |
| Noun | |
| plural | antiseptics |
Origin of antiseptic
From anti- + septic.
Words formed from antiseptic
Questions about antiseptic
- What does antiseptic mean?
- Antiseptic means of or relating to antisepsis or the use of antiseptics.
- What is antiseptic in Urdu?
- Antiseptic in Urdu is جراثیم کُش (jaraseem kush). See Antiseptic meaning in Urdu.
- How do you use antiseptic in a sentence?
- [Chief Justice John] Roberts got criticism for what some perceived as his relatively brief and antiseptic description of the events of Jan. 6, 2021, in his majority opinion in Fischer v.
- What part of speech is antiseptic?
- Antiseptic can be an adjective or a noun.
- How do you pronounce antiseptic?
- Antiseptic is pronounced /ˌæntiˈsɛptɪk/.
Words near antiseptic in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: antiseptic (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-antiseptic.oga.
Cite this entry: “antiseptic.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/antiseptic. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.