cleanse

verb

\ ˈklenz

cleansed; cleansing; cleanses

Definition of cleanse

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : clean especially : to rid of impurities by or as if by washing cleansed the wound It's that mystical state most athletes are lucky to achieve a few times in their careers. The mind is cleansed. The body is free. — Jon Wertheim

2 : to expel, imprison, or kill (the members of an ethnic minority) in (an area) : to subject to or remove by ethnic cleansing In 1996, tens of thousands of ethnic Tutsis, most of them of Rwandan origin, were murdered or ethnically cleansed in the Masisi region of eastern Zaire.— David Rieff

intransitive verb

: to engage in or undergo a cleanse to remove toxins from the body Some people who cleanse say they experience dramatic physical changes.— Karen Hube

cleanse

noun

Definition of cleanse (Entry 2 of 2)

: a very restrictive short-term diet primarily intended to remove toxins from the body Under the supervision of her nutritionist … Gillian Anderson has reportedly participated in cleanses that consist of little more than liquids for 10 days.— J. D. Heiman … told me about her 28-day cleanse, which limits the caffeine, sugar, gluten, dairy and red meat in your diet.— Jon Harris

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Examples of cleanse in a Sentence

Verb

The cut should be cleansed gently with mild soap and water. in an elaborate ritual the priestess cleansed the gathering of supplicants

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

In Hay, two Aboriginal men escorted the hearse into a park, where an honor guard of teenage boys carried the coffin to an ancient purification ceremony that involved cleansing it with smoking eucalyptus leaves. — David Maurice Smith, Smithsonian, "A 42,000-Year-Old Man Finally Goes Home," 23 Aug. 2019 Hydrogen sulfide is associated with the natural processes occurring in the Salton Sea, a non-draining body of water with no ability to cleanse itself. — Carlos Lozano, Los Angeles Times, "Odor advisory issued for Salton Sea area; hydrogen sulfide leads to rotten-egg smell," 18 Aug. 2019 The Hyaluronic Base Serum should be applied after cleansing to provide intense hydration for the skin, then supplemented with the Lift, Eyes, Lines and Highlight serums as needed. — Rachel Marlowe, The Hollywood Reporter, "Beauty Inside Out: Nicole Kidman-Approved Hair Oil, On-Demand Hollywood Beauty Treatments," 23 Aug. 2019 By the same token, there is a cleansing in opposition, and the millions of Eastern Ukrainians who had once been represented by the Party of Regions were now without any champion in Kyiv. — Sam Patten, WIRED, "Kostya and Me: How Sam Patten Got Ensnared in Mueller’s Probe," 14 Aug. 2019 Set the stage for stunning curls with a moisture-rich, frizz-fighting foundation by cleansing and conditioning with No-Poo Decadence and One Condition Decadence. — Essence, "Your Guide to ESSENCE Festival Hair: The Best Style for the Best Weekend Ever," 2 July 2019 Apart from cleansing the stain of last year’s final, these 127 matches serve as irrefutable proof that the sport is doing just fine, thanks. — Jon Wertheim, SI.com, "Bianca Andreescu Beats Serena Williams to Win U.S. Open, First Grand Slam Title," 7 Sep. 2019 Millions of German-speakers were ethnically cleansed from post-war Russia and Eastern Europe by the Russian Army. — Victor Davis Hanson, National Review, "The Ghosts of World War II," 5 Sep. 2019 The world counts on its largest rainforest to cleanse our atmosphere of greenhouse gases. — USA Today, "6 charts show why thousands of fires in the Amazon rainforest matter to the world," 23 Aug. 2019

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Selling Matic would represent a further cleanse of the deadwood that has characterised the Solskjaer era, although doing it any sooner than summer would leave the squad too thin. — SI.com, "Manchester United Should Let the 'Frustrated' Nemanja Matic Leave Next Summer," 17 Sep. 2019 After a quick cleanse, Demie applies a hydrating serum to properly moisturize her canvas. — Jenna Rennert, Vogue, "Euphoria’s Alexa Demie Shares Her ’90s Glam Tutorial," 30 July 2019 The High Altitude Facial ($230), for example, incorporates a lemon cream cleanse, a papaya pineapple mask and biogenic topical serums to revitalize and smooth the skin. — Sarah Kuta, The Know, "Serious self-care: A guide to Colorado’s must-visit spas," 30 July 2019 Assigning moral value to what was on my plate meant that one too many bites of pie would need to be followed by some sort of miserable cleanse, which of course fueled the endless restrict-binge-repeat cycle. — SELF, "I'm an R.D. Who Lets Her Kid Eat Dessert Before Veggies. Before You Judge Me, Hear Me Out," 5 July 2019 When a complaint inevitably does pop into your head during the cleanse, try not to get frustrated with yourself, said Jovon Bernal, a meditation teacher and owner of Downey Yoga. — Sara Cagle, latimes.com, "Want to embrace mindfulness? Try a complaint cleanse first," 28 June 2019 Even if a juice cleanse is not in your foreseeable future, this rose gold juicer is still worth the consideration. — Michaela Bechler, Vogue, "18 Pink Home Items to Gift This Valentine’s Day," 7 Feb. 2019 The milky emulsion also contains leucidal liquid, which is a natural preservative comprised of radish root ferment that has anti-bacterial properties i.e. your hair will also get a nice natural cleanse in the process. — Lauren Valenti, Marie Claire, ""Hair Water" Is the Ancient Japanese Beauty Trend Making a Big Comeback Right Now," 23 Mar. 2016 The cleanser, which counts sulfur, salicylic acid, and glycolic acid as key ingredients, has a creamy consistency that lathers into a soft foam to offer a thorough cleanse. — Karina Hoshikawa, Allure, "Exclusive: M-61 Is Launching a Cleanser and Moisturizer for Adult Acne," 11 Mar. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'cleanse.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.