disinfectant
/dɪs.ɪnˈfɛktənt/ adjective, noun
Forms disinfectants
- adjective Serving to kill germs or viruses. “I washed repeatedly with a disinfectant soap but I still caught the flu.”
- noun A substance that kills germs or viruses. “The scalpels were soaked in disinfectant before the operation so disease wouldn't be spread.”
Synonyms
germicide antimicrobic antimicrobial bactericidal germicidal
Etymology
From disinfect + -ant, borrowed from French désinfectant.
Webster’s 1913
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “disinfectant”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details