Standard Lemma guide

sanitary

adj · noun · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Australian, Received-Pronunciation: /ˈsænɪt(ə)ɹi/
  • Canada, General-American: /ˈsænɪˌtɛɹi/
  • Canada, General-American: [ˈsɛənɪˌtɛɹi]
  • California: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Philippines: /saniˈtaɾi/
  • CMU ARPABET: S AE1 N IH0 T EH2 R IY0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Of or relating to health.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Clean and free from pathogens; hygienic.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

Sanitary towel.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

adjective

Meaning 4

free from filth and pathogens

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • sanitary conditions for preparing food
  • a sanitary washroom

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: healthful

Antonyms: unsanitary

History

Etymology

19th century, borrowed from French sanitaire, formed from Latin sanitas (“health”). Analysable as sanity + -ary.

Across languages

Translations

50 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Asturian: sanitariu — of health
  • Belarusian: саніта́рны (sanitárny) — of health
  • Bulgarian: санитарен (sanitaren) — of health
  • Czech: sanitární — of health
  • Danish: sanitær — of health
  • Finnish: terveys- — of health
  • Finnish: saniteetti- — of health
  • French: sanitaire — of health
  • Georgian: სანიტარიული (saniṭariuli) — of health
  • German: Gesundheits- — of health
  • Italian: sanitario — of health
  • Kazakh: санитариялық (sanitariälyq) — of health
  • Kazakh: санитарлық (sanitarlyq) — of health
  • Latin: saniter — of health
  • Latin: sanitera — of health
  • Latin: saniterum — of health
  • Norwegian Bokmål: sanitær — of health
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: sanitær — of health
  • Polish: sanitarny — of health
  • Russian: санита́рный (sanitárnyj) — of health
  • Spanish: sanitario — of health
  • Swedish: sanitär — of health
  • Swedish: sanitets- — of health
  • Tagalog: palagalingin — of health
  • Ottoman Turkish: صحیه (sıhhıye) — of health
  • Ukrainian: саніта́рний (sanitárnyj) — of health
  • Vietnamese: vệ sinh — of health
  • Bulgarian: чист (čist) — hygienic
  • Bulgarian: хигиеничен (higieničen) — hygienic
  • Czech: sanitární — hygienic
  • Danish: sanitær — hygienic
  • Finnish: saniteetti- — hygienic
  • French: sanitaire — hygienic
  • Georgian: სანიტარიული (saniṭariuli) — hygienic
  • Georgian: ჰიგიენური (higienuri) — hygienic
  • German: sanitär — hygienic
  • Italian: igienico — hygienic
  • Kazakh: санитариялық (sanitariälyq) — hygienic
  • Kazakh: санитарлық (sanitarlyq) — hygienic
  • Māori: parukore — hygienic
  • Norwegian Bokmål: hygienisk — hygienic
  • Norwegian Bokmål: sanitær — hygienic
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: hygienisk — hygienic
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: sanitær — hygienic
  • Swedish: sanitär — hygienic
  • Swedish: hygienisk — hygienic
  • Swedish: sanitets- — hygienic
  • Swedish: hygien- — hygienic
  • Thai: อนามัย (à-naa-mai) — hygienic
  • Vietnamese: sạch — hygienic
Real reading context

sanitary in complete knowledge articles