Cleanse
/klɛnz/
verbBeginnerCommonGeneral
Meaning
Question
Definitions
1
To remove dirt, impurities, or contaminants from something.
/klɛnz/
verbneutralBeginner
General
To make clean; to purify.
She cleansed her hands before preparing the food.
💡 Simply: Imagine washing something really dirty until it's sparkling clean – that's cleansing! It's like giving something a super thorough cleaning.
👶 For kids: To wash something until it's super clean!
More Examples
2
The rain cleansed the air.
How It's Used
Medical
"The doctor used antiseptic to cleanse the wound."
Religious
"Many religions have rituals to cleanse the soul."
From Old English *clēnsian, from clēan "clean". The word has evolved through Middle English and retains its core meaning of making something pure.
Historically, 'cleanse' held strong religious connotations, referring to spiritual purification.
Memory tip
Think of 'clean' + 'se' (as in 'to make'), so cleanse means 'to make clean'.
Practice
Base: clean
cleanscleenseclense
Usage
20%Spoken
80%Written