DISINFECTANT

Disinfectant

Disinfectants are substances that are applied to non-living objects to destroy microorganisms that are living on the objects. Disinfection does not necessarily kill all microorganisms, especially resistant bacterial spores; it is less effective than sterilisation, which is an extreme physical and/or chemical process that kills all types of life. Disinfectants are different from other antimicrobial agents such as antibiotics, which destroy microorganisms within the body, and antiseptics, which destroy microorganisms on living tissue. Disinfectants are also different from biocides — the latter are intended to destroy all forms of life, not just microorganisms.

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disinfectant

Noun

  1. A substance which kills germs and/or viruses.
    The scalpels were soaked in disinfectant before the operation so disease wouldn't be spread.

Adjective

disinfectant

  1. Referring to something that contains a disinfectant or has the properties of a disinfectant.
    I washed repeatedly with a disinfectant soap but I still caught the flu.


The above text is a snippet from Wiktionary: disinfectant
and as such is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

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