detoxify

Definition

To remove foreign and harmful substances from something.

Etymology

Attested since 1905 (twelve years earlier than toxify), from de- + tox- + -ify. (Detoxicate is attested one year earlier, since 1904.)

Example Sentences

• "As a result of this, in some way or other, unknown to us, a diminished power of oxidation results and the organism loses the power to detoxify substances absorbed from the intestine which have been present there in excess; […]"
• "The severe disciplinary action taken by his daughter—who since taking over the FN in 2011 has led a drive to “detoxify” the party and move it away from the racist, jackbooted, antisemitic imagery of the past—was supposed to silence her father."
• "We can either break as a nation or find a way to detoxify our politics."