cleanse

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Also found in: Idioms.

cleanse

(klĕnz)

tr.v. cleansed, cleans·ing, cleans·es

a. To free from dirt, contamination, or impurities: cleansed the wound.

b. To treat (the body or an organ) with a regimen intended to remove impurities and promote health: drank vegetable juice for a week to cleanse her digestive system.

2. To purify morally or spiritually: cleanse the organization of corruption; cleansed of sin.

3. To subject to ethnic cleansing.

An act of cleansing: a cleanse of the digestive system.

Idiom:

cleanse the/one's palate

To clear the mouth of strong flavors: served sherbet between courses to cleanse the palate.

[Middle English clensen, from Old English clǣnsian, from clǣne, pure, clean.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

cleanse

(klɛnz)

vb (tr)

1. to remove dirt, filth, etc, from

2. to remove guilt from

3. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) to remove a group of people from (an area) by means of ethnic cleansing

4. to remove a group of people from (an area) by means of ethnic cleansing

[Old English clǣnsian; related to Middle Low German klēnsen; see clean]

ˈcleansable adj

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

cleanse

(klɛnz)

v. cleansed, cleans•ing. v.t.

1. to make clean.

2. to remove by or as if by cleaning: to cleanse sin from the soul.

3. to practice ethnic cleansing on; purge.

v.i.

4. to become clean.

[before 900; Middle English clensen, Old English clǣnsian <clǣne clean]

cleans′a•ble, adj.

cleanse

Past participle: cleansed
Gerund: cleansing

Imperative
cleanse
cleanse

Present
I cleanse
you cleanse
he/she/it cleanses
we cleanse
you cleanse
they cleanse

Preterite
I cleansed
you cleansed
he/she/it cleansed
we cleansed
you cleansed
they cleansed

Present Continuous
I am cleansing
you are cleansing
he/she/it is cleansing
we are cleansing
you are cleansing
they are cleansing

Present Perfect
I have cleansed
you have cleansed
he/she/it has cleansed
we have cleansed
you have cleansed
they have cleansed

Past Continuous
I was cleansing
you were cleansing
he/she/it was cleansing
we were cleansing
you were cleansing
they were cleansing

Past Perfect
I had cleansed
you had cleansed
he/she/it had cleansed
we had cleansed
you had cleansed
they had cleansed

Future
I will cleanse
you will cleanse
he/she/it will cleanse
we will cleanse
you will cleanse
they will cleanse

Future Perfect
I will have cleansed
you will have cleansed
he/she/it will have cleansed
we will have cleansed
you will have cleansed
they will have cleansed

Future Continuous
I will be cleansing
you will be cleansing
he/she/it will be cleansing
we will be cleansing
you will be cleansing
they will be cleansing

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been cleansing
you have been cleansing
he/she/it has been cleansing
we have been cleansing
you have been cleansing
they have been cleansing

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been cleansing
you will have been cleansing
he/she/it will have been cleansing
we will have been cleansing
you will have been cleansing
they will have been cleansing

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been cleansing
you had been cleansing
he/she/it had been cleansing
we had been cleansing
you had been cleansing
they had been cleansing

Conditional
I would cleanse
you would cleanse
he/she/it would cleanse
we would cleanse
you would cleanse
they would cleanse

Past Conditional
I would have cleansed
you would have cleansed
he/she/it would have cleansed
we would have cleansed
you would have cleansed
they would have cleansed

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Verb	1.	cleanse - clean one's body or parts thereof, as by washing; "clean up before you see your grandparents"; "clean your fingernails before dinner" clean bathe - cleanse the entire body; "bathe daily" wash - to cleanse (itself or another animal) by licking; "The cat washes several times a day" lave, wash - cleanse (one's body) with soap and water soap, lather - rub soap all over, usually with the purpose of cleaning bath, bathe - clean one's body by immersion into water; "The child should bathe every day" douche - direct a spray of water into a bodily cavity, for cleaning neaten, groom - care for one's external appearance; "He is always well-groomed" floss - use dental floss to clean; "floss your teeth after every meal" decontaminate - rid of contamination; "The soil around the housing development had to be decontaminated by the city"
	2.	cleanse - purge of an ideology, bad thoughts, or sins; "Purgatory is supposed to cleanse you from your sins" denazify - free from Nazi ideology or detach from Nazi allegiance; "Germany was denazified after WW II"; "The highest judges were never denazified" disembarrass, rid, free - relieve from; "Rid the house of pests"

cleanse

verb purify, clear, purge Your body is beginning to cleanse itself of tobacco toxins.

1. absolve, clear, purge, purify Confession cleanses the soul.

2. clean, wash, scrub, rinse, scour She demonstrated the proper way to cleanse the face.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

cleanse

verb

1. To make or become clear by the removal of impurities:

clarify, clean, purify, refine.

2. To free from sin, guilt, or defilement:

lustrate, purge, purify.

Translations

يُنَظِّفُ

čistit

rense

reinigen

limpiar

nettoyer purifier

hreinsa

crema detergente detergere forbire mondare pulire

apvalytivaliklis

attīrītdezinficēttīrīt

rense renske vaske

temizlemek

使清洁

cleanse

[klenz] VT [+ skin] → limpiar (of de) (fig) [+ soul etc] → purificar

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

cleanse

[ˈklɛnz] vt

[+ skin, wound] → nettoyer

[+ digestive system] → purger
to cleanse sth of sth (physically) → purger qch de qch

(morally) [+ soul] → purifier
to cleanse sth of sth (morally) → purifier qch de qch

(ethnically) [+ place, area] → purifier

cleanse

vt → reinigen; (spiritually) → läutern (of von)

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

cleanse

[klɛnz] vt → pulire (fig) (soul) → purificare

cleanse

(klenz) verb

to make clean. This cream will cleanse your skin; cleansed of guilt.

ˈcleanser noun

something which cleans, especially a cosmetic used to clean the face.

References in classic literature ?

Yes; and many is the time, when, after the severest uninterrupted labors, which know no night; continuing straight through for ninety-six hours; when from the boat, where they have swelled their wrists with all day rowing on the Line, --they only step to the deck to carry vast chains, and heave the heavy windlass, and cut and slash, yea, and in their very sweatings to be smoked and burned anew by the combined fires of the equatorial sun and the equatorial try-works; when, on the heel of all this, they have finally bestirred themselves to cleanse the ship, and make a spotless dairy room of it; many is the time the poor fellows, just buttoning the necks of their clean frocks, are startled by the cry of There she blows!

View in context

THE KILLING OF THE SUITORS--THE MAIDS WHO HAVE MISCONDUCTED THEMSELVES ARE MADE TO CLEANSE THE CLOISTERS AND ARE THEN HANGED.

View in context

PS6.99, www.hollandandbarrett.com VERSO MICELLAR WATER - 200ML: Quickly cleanse the skin while keeping it calm and balanced with this micellar water.

Top 10 MICELLAR WATERS; Take-a-break LIFESTYLE, PUZZLES, BRAINTEASERS, STARS & CARTOONS

Other methods of "cleansing" involve eating a very restricted selection of foods; using various dietary supplements or other commercial products that claim to cleanse the body of toxins; cleansing the colon (lower intestinal tract) with enemas, laxatives, or colon hydrotherapy (also called "colonic irrigation" or "colonics"); or a combination of any of these methods.

What's the deal with detox/cleanse regimens?

'Before I cleanse the organization, I should cleanse myself first.

Bato goes 'soul-searching,' mulls spiritual retreat for all cops

The Total Fertility Cleansing Kit ensures that it uses only natural organic products such as herbs that cleanse the body of all damaging toxins, bacteria, waste etc.

Dollyhams Health Company Launches Total Fertility Cleansing Kit

A security source in Diyala told the National Iraqi News Agency / NINA / that the units of military engineering effort succeeded to dismantle the five houses and / 12 / explosive devices during cleansing operations were carried out in the western suburbs of Saadiya northeast of Baquba, adding that the cleansing process by engineering effort continues to cleanse the booby-trapped houses and public roads of IEDs.

Five booby-trapped houses and / 12 / explosive devices dismantled in al-Saadiya in Diyala

In other words, where simple dietary cleanses can help promote healthy gastrointestinal functions, he says, panchakarma is intended to deeply cleanse the entire body and spirit.

All clear: practitioners of panchakarma go beyond the basic cleanse to deeply purify body and soul

NNA - The Grand Blue Campaign got underway in Beirut Sunday in a bid to cleanse the seashore and seabed as far as knowhow and cleansing capabilities permit, according to event organizers.

The Grand Blue Campaign gets underway

"Cleanse the skin effectively at night to remove make-up and ensure that pores don't become clogged and debris isn't left on the skin that can cause bacteria, which is how spots can develop," Achilleos warns.

Spring clean your regime; Now is the best time to give your skin the treat it needs. Lisa Haynes discovers why cleansing should go beyond a soapy scrub

"It's particularly important to cleanse the skin effectively at night to remove make-up and ensure that pores don't become clogged and debris isn't left on the skin that can cause bacteria, which is how spots can develop," Anastasia warns.