antiseptic

From anti- +‎ septic.

• IPA^(key): /ˌæntiˈsɛptɪk/

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antiseptic (comparative more antiseptic, superlative most antiseptic)

1. Of, or relating to antisepsis, or the use of antiseptics.
2. (pharmacology) Capable of preventing microbial infection.
3. Very clean; aseptic.
4. Free of unpleasantness; prim, sanitized or bowdlerized.
   • 1991 May 4, Mary Dowd, “Risky Business”, in Gay Community News, page 7:

     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.

   • 2001, John Allen, A Touch of Uncertainty:

     Forget all those Christmas cards with their ideal scenarios and antiseptic smiles. Stables are filthy and they stink […]

   • 2024 July 1, Mark Walsh, “A dramatic last day in the courtroom”, in SCOTUSblog:

     [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. United States the other day.

   • 2025 April 9, Quinta Jurecic, “What, Exactly, Is the Supreme Court Thinking?”, in The Atlantic:

     The [Supreme Court's emergency ruling in Trump v. J.G.G.]—an unsigned opinion from the Court’s conservative bloc, minus Amy Coney Barrett—is strangely antiseptic.

antiseptic (plural antiseptics)

1. (pharmacology) 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).

• hand antiseptic

• antibacterial
• antibiotic

• psittacine

Borrowed from French antiseptique.

antiseptic n (plural antiseptici)

1. antiseptic, germicide