Bleach vs. Disinfectant

Bleachadjective

(archaic) Pale; bleak.

Bleachverb

(transitive) To treat with bleach, especially so as to whiten (fabric, paper, etc.) or lighten (hair).

Bleachverb

(intransitive) To be whitened or lightened (by the sun, for example).

Bleachverb

to lose color due to stress-induced expulsion of symbiotic unicellular algae.

Bleachverb

To make meaningless; to divest of meaning; to make empty.

Bleachnoun

(uncountable) A chemical, such as sodium hypochlorite or hydrogen peroxide, or a preparation of such a chemical, used for disinfecting or whitening.

Bleachnoun

(countable) A variety of bleach.

Bleachnoun

An act of bleaching; exposure to the sun.

Bleachnoun

A disease of the skin.

Bleachverb

To make white, or whiter; to remove the color, or stains, from; to blanch; to whiten.

Bleachverb

To grow white or lose color; to whiten.

Bleachnoun

the whiteness that results from removing the color from something;

Bleachnoun

an agent that makes things white or colorless

Bleachnoun

the act of whitening something by bleaching it (exposing it to sunlight or using a chemical bleaching agent)

Bleachverb

remove color from;

Bleachverb

make whiter or lighter;

Bleach

Bleach is the generic name for any chemical product that is used industrially and domestically to remove color from a fabric or fiber or to clean or to remove stains in a process called bleaching. It often refers, specifically, to a dilute solution of sodium hypochlorite, also called .

Disinfectantadjective

Serving to kill germs or viruses.

Disinfectantnoun

A substance that kills germs and/or viruses.

Disinfectantnoun

That which disinfects, especially an agent for killing or removing the microorganisms which cause infection. Commonly used disinfectants are chlorine, sodium hypochlorite solution, hydrogen peroxide, and alcohol.

Disinfectantnoun

an agent (as heat or radiation or a chemical) that destroys microorganisms that might carry disease

Disinfectantadjective

preventing infection by inhibiting the growth or action of microorganisms

Disinfectantnoun

a chemical liquid that destroys bacteria

Disinfectantadjective

causing disinfection

Disinfectant

A disinfectant is a chemical substance or compound used to inactivate or destroy microorganisms on inert surfaces. Disinfection does not necessarily kill all microorganisms, especially resistant bacterial spores; it is less effective than sterilization, which is an extreme physical or chemical process that kills all types of life.