cleanse

[klenz] verb, cleansed, cleans·ing.
verb (used with object)
1.
to make clean.
2.
to remove by or as if by cleaning: to cleanse sin from the soul.
verb (used without object)
3.
to become clean.

Origin:
before 900; Middle English clensen, Old English clǣnsian, equivalent to clǣne clean + -si- v. suffix + -an infinitive suffix

cleans·a·ble, adjective
re·cleanse, verb (used with object), re·cleansed, re·cleans·ing.
un·cleans·a·ble, adjective
un·cleansed, adjective
well-cleansed, adjective

clean, cleanse (see synonym study at clean).


1. See clean.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Cleanse is one of our favorite verbs.
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to flee; abscond:
to chew (food) slowly and thoroughly.
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World English Dictionary
cleanse (klɛnz) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
vb
1.  to remove dirt, filth, etc, from
2.  to remove guilt from
3.  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]
 
'cleansable
 
adj

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

cleanse
O.E. clænsian, from W.Gmc. *klainson, from *klainoz (see clean). Despite its modern spelling (16c.), it retains its M.E. pronunciation.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
Flush the wound with water, cleanse with mild soap and wash the area thoroughly.
Folk forms could cleanse culture of the artificiality that, he felt, was
  poisoning modern life.
The plants in turn filter the water and cleanse it before returning to the fish
  tanks.
It aimed to cleanse the city's waterways of urban pollution in compliance with
  state and federal law.
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