- to free from dirt, germs, etc., as by cleaning or sterilizing.
- to make less offensive by eliminating anything unwholesome, objectionable, incriminating, etc.: to sanitize a document before releasing it to the press.
- to make sanitary or hygienic, as by sterilizing
- to omit unpleasant details from (a news report, document, etc) to make it more palatable to the recipients
