Word family noun cleaner cleaning cleanliness clean cleanser adjective clean ≠ unclean verb clean cleanse adverb clean cleanly
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishcleansecleanse /klenz/ verb [transitive] 1 MICUREto make something completely clean Use a piece of gauze to cleanse the cut. The water is cleansed and reused.► see thesaurus at clean2 to remove everything that is bad or immoral from a person’s character, an organization, or a place – used especially in news reportscleanse somebody/something of something The mayor was elected on a promise to cleanse the city government of corruption. → ethnic cleansing→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
cleanse• The wound was then cleansed and redressed aseptically.• This is a soul cleansing, carefully detailing the surrounding circumstances and the pressures that demanded that action be taken immediately.• Climbing the places he had loved came to seem like a cleansing experience for a sick soul.• Music had cleansed him as a river cleans a gorge through which it tumbles.• Swimming in open-air hot bathwater in view of ice-topped peaks is different, wonderfully different - cleansing, relaxing and just good.• Cleanse the wound with alcohol.• First I had to be cleansed - this meant drinking a lot of medicated water and throwing it up again.• They involve the same exfoliating, cleansing, toning and moisturising routines as facials.• She performed a 200-peso, or $ 25, ritual cleansing with herbs, flowers, chiles and perfumed lotions.• This lotion cleanses your skin deep down, while preserving its natural pH balance.cleanse somebody/something of something• The prisoners prayed that they would be cleansed of their sins. 