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STERILIZATION
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
The procedure of making some object free of live bacteria or other microorganisms (usually by heat or chemical means)
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("sterilization" is a kind of...):
cleaning; cleansing; cleanup (the act of making something clean)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "sterilization"):
pasteurisation; pasteurization (partial sterilization of foods at a temperature that destroys harmful microorganisms without major changes in the chemistry of the food)
Derivation:
sterilize (make free from bacteria)
Sense 2
Meaning:
The act of making an organism barren or infertile (unable to reproduce)
Synonyms:
sterilisation; sterilization
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("sterilization" is a kind of...):
operation; surgery; surgical operation; surgical procedure; surgical process (a medical procedure involving an incision with instruments; performed to repair damage or arrest disease in a living body)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "sterilization"):
altering; fixing; neutering (the sterilization of an animal)
surgical contraception (contraception by surgical sterilization)
Derivation:
sterilize (make infertile)
Context examples:
A sterilization process that uses ozone gas to kill microorganisms.
(Ozone Sterilization, NCI Thesaurus)
A sterilization process that uses moist air at high temperatures to kill microorganisms.
(Moist Heat or Steam Sterilization, Food and Drug Administration)
A sterilization process that uses nonionizing radiation at frequencies between 300MHz and 300GHz in the microwave region to kill microorganisms.
(Microwave Radiation Sterilization, Food and Drug Administration)
A sterilization method that uses a disinfectant for a period of time to kill all microorganisms except small numbers of bacterial spores.
(High-level Disinfectant Sterilization, NCI Thesaurus)
A sterilization process that uses ethylene oxide gas to kill microorganisms.
(Ethylene Oxide Sterilization, NCI Thesaurus)
A sterilization process that uses high temperature and dry air to kill microorganisms on the surface of objects.
(Dry Heat Sterilization, NCI Thesaurus)
A sterilization process that uses ethylene oxide gas enclosed within a sealed bag to kill microorganisms.
(Ethylene Oxide-in-a-Bag Sterilization, NCI Thesaurus)
A sterilization process that uses high temperature and dry air to kill microorganisms.
(Dry Heat Sterilization, Food and Drug Administration)
A sterilization process that uses nitrogen dioxide to kill microorganisms.
(Nitrogen Dioxide Sterilization, NCI Thesaurus)
A sterilization process that uses nitrogen dioxide radicals that are formed from dinitrogen tetroxide dimers to kill microorganisms.
(Nitrogen Dioxide Sterilization, Food and Drug Administration)
