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Glite Dictionary
🧴 A cleaning chemical 🧴 Kills germs
disinfectant

disinfectant

1 3.5
Able to kill germs to stop infection
  • adjective
  • /ˌdɪsɪnˈfɛktənt/
translation icon : desinfectante
  • After water removal, all affected materials should be decontaminated by spraying with a disinfectant solution.

No, if I can get a keychain, disinfectant wipes, a candle, a men's body fragrance and a sack of s'mores all in one crevice aisle before I hand them my card.

Examples

  • This is disinfectant.

    Doctor Zhivago (1965)

  • Clean the object first and then apply the disinfectant solution.

    Blog text (25)

  • You must use this disinfectant soap.

    Sophie's Choice (1982)

  • "Right now, she needs a disinfectant sponge bath before the ambulance gets here.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • Add lavender oil to your tea tree cleaning solution to increase the disinfectant power; there is a synergistic effect.

    Blog text (10)

  • Residual organic matter in cracks and crevices can be removed by pressure washing with a disinfectant solution.

    Academic text (1994)

  • The THM rule has made many utilities switch from chlorination to chloramination as a disinfectant byproduct mitigation strategy.

    Academic text (2003)

  • This addition changes any free chlorine to chloramines. (Chloramines possess some disinfectant properties, but are weak compared to free chlorine itself.)

    Academic text (1998)

  • Ensure the surfaces are clean before applying the disinfectant solution to kill germs.

  • When performing surgery, medical staff use a disinfectant to maintain a sterile environment.

Synonyms

antiseptic
vsdisinfectant
  • Specialized
12 4.9

Free from germs and able to kill them

prevents infection by inhibiting growth rather than naming a clean state
germicidal
vsdisinfectant
6.8

Able to kill germs or stop them from growing

prevents infection by inhibiting microorganism growth or action
antimicrobic
vsdisinfectant
  • Specialized
6.6

Able to kill germs and stop their growth

used to prevent infection rather than name the technical action
bactericidal
vsdisinfectant
  • Specialized
6.6

Able to kill bacteria or stop their growth

prevents infection from many microbes, not only bacteria

How Antimicrobial

disinfectant
1 3.5
antimicrobial
  • Specialized
3 5.1
antiseptic
  • Specialized
3 3.7

Surface Forms

disinfectant positive

Morphology

disinfectant = disinfect (transparent) = dis + infect + ant

The adjective meaning 'having disinfecting properties' is a straightforward derivation from the verb 'disinfect'.

Etymology

Disinfectant combines dis- 'not' and infect 'to cause disease', the same root you see in infection. That's why, used as an adjective, disinfectant describes something that can kill germs or stop infection.