cleanse
Americanverb (used with object)
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to make clean.
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to remove by or as if by cleaning.
to cleanse sin from the soul.
verb (used without object)
verb
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to remove dirt, filth, etc, from
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to remove guilt from
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to remove a group of people from (an area) by means of ethnic cleansing
Synonym Usage
See clean.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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recleanseverb (used with object)
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cleansableadjective
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uncleansableadjective
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uncleansedadjective
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well-cleansedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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cleansesimple
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cleansessimple
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have cleansedperfect
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has cleansedperfect
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am cleansingprogressive
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are cleansingprogressive
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is cleansingprogressive
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have been cleansingperfect progressive
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has been cleansingperfect progressive
Past
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cleansedsimple
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had cleansedperfect
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was cleansingprogressive
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were cleansingprogressive
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had been cleansingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of cleanse
before 900; Middle English clensen, Old English clǣnsian, equivalent to clǣne clean + -si- v. suffix + -an infinitive suffix
Vocabulary lists containing cleanse
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The author also contends that recessions don’t cleanse or restructure economies, the way wildfires clear forests of their dead wood.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026
For the psychic who does a spiritual cleanse on her, they were lucky to find one who agreed to have his face on camera.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 28, 2026
“No power, no justification, and no time can cleanse this great tragedy.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 13, 2026
"For the rivers within us flow with ease, fears washed away, cleanse and purify. Come to peace with our tears and discover what it means to be alive," she says.
From BBC ● Jan. 9, 2026
“Nansi wants you to help him cleanse this world,” Benefo says.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
It was just out of earshot from Oz nodding along to musings on how “sleep is when the brain cleanses itself.”
From Slate ● Jul. 1, 2026
Many cleanses also recommend eating certain foods or restricting one’s diet, which could also disrupt this system.
From Salon ● May 18, 2025
Pilgrims bathe in these rivers, believing the ritual cleanses their sins and brings them closer to spiritual liberation.
From BBC ● Jan. 29, 2025
Hindus believe taking a dip in the sacred waters cleanses people of sins.
From BBC ● Jan. 13, 2025
“A shield that repels germs while it gently cleanses your pores, leaving a spanking-clean exterior.”
From "Ida B" by Katherine Hannigan
Thus cleansed of expectation, you move through a series of smaller, even intimate spaces in which you are given free access to a literal universe of biological data.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 2026
Will the doors of perception ever be cleansed?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 15, 2026
“That cleansed the space of a lot of weaker companies,” he says.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 3, 2025
The purpose of earthly life for a good 16th-century Christian was to prepare for life with God in heaven, their soul cleansed of mortal sin.
From Salon ● Mar. 23, 2025
"There was grievous news today, my lord. I did not wish to trouble you until you had cleansed yourself."
From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin
“There’s going to be a cleansing between different funds, different assets,” said Alvarez-Demalde, who added that Riverwood is well-positioned.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
They are also investigating whether trees have adapted to tolerate or even take advantage of this process, and whether the resulting atmospheric cleansing benefits forest ecosystems.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 21, 2026
Blankfein added that the long period without a financial crisis cleansing process meant ”you accumulate tinder on the floor of the forest and eventually a spark will come.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 26, 2026
It’s cathartic and cleansing, and sometimes I see dolphins.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 20, 2026
It was then that she went through her beauty routine, a cleansing, creaming ritual, which on Saturday nights included washing her hair.
From "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
