CEFR C2

bactericidal

adjective

Meaning

Killing bacteria or capable of destroying them.

Many modern antibiotics are bactericidal, meaning they actively destroy the cell walls of harmful bacteria rather than just slowing their growth.
The hospital implemented a new bactericidal cleaning protocol to prevent the spread of infections in the intensive care unit.

Synonyms: germicidal, antibacterial, antimicrobial, disinfectant

adjective

Pronunciation: /bækˌtɪərɪˈsaɪdəl/

Killing bacteria or capable of destroying them.

Many modern antibiotics are bactericidal, meaning they actively destroy the cell walls of harmful bacteria rather than just slowing their growth.
The hospital implemented a new bactericidal cleaning protocol to prevent the spread of infections in the intensive care unit.
While some household cleaners are merely bacteriostatic, this specific bleach solution is truly bactericidal.

bactericidal agent (collocation): a substance that kills bacteria — "The doctor prescribed a potent bactericidal agent to treat the infection."
bactericidal effect (collocation): the result of killing bacteria — "The heat treatment demonstrated a strong bactericidal effect on the samples."

Words with a similar meaning to bactericidal: