1
as in to purge
to free from moral guilt or blemish especially ceremonially
in an elaborate ritual the priestess cleansed the gathering of supplicants
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to clean
to remove the dirt from
cleanse the wound with soap and water before applying the bandage
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of cleanse
The brand’s hero product, its Plum Beauty Oil, is also the brand’s hero ingredient across top sellers, including its Plumscreen sun screen and the brand’s cleansing oil.
—
James Manso, Footwear News, 6 May 2026
Their Allure Best of Beauty award-winning and best-selling Turmeric Brightening & Exfoliating Mask is a 2-in-1 treatment that works as a gentle scrub or leave-on detox mask to deeply cleanse and brighten.
—ABC News, 4 May 2026
Allen cleansed himself in the process.
—Jason Lloyd, New York Times, 4 May 2026
Journey across the world as Kena, a spirit guide who partners with magical critters called Rot to cleanse a corrupted land.
—George Yang, PC Magazine, 1 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for cleanse
James Manso, Footwear News, 6 May 2026
Their Allure Best of Beauty award-winning and best-selling Turmeric Brightening & Exfoliating Mask is a 2-in-1 treatment that works as a gentle scrub or leave-on detox mask to deeply cleanse and brighten.
—ABC News, 4 May 2026
Allen cleansed himself in the process.
—Jason Lloyd, New York Times, 4 May 2026
Journey across the world as Kena, a spirit guide who partners with magical critters called Rot to cleanse a corrupted land.
—George Yang, PC Magazine, 1 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for cleanse
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cleanse
Verb
-
The data shows that black and brown people spend much longer time, in longer lines, purging people, people literally showing up and not knowing that their names have been purged from the rolls.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
4 May 2026
-
On defense, the Kings have purged talent with limited or no value in return in recent years.—
Andrew Knoll,
Daily News,
2 May 2026
Verb
-
On May 6, 2016, Kianna and her sister, Miah, were home cleaning the house for Mother’s Day while Fiona was work.—
Gloria Casas,
Chicago Tribune,
9 May 2026
-
Rescuers pulled his body from the water after half an hour and rushed him to Los Angeles General Medical Center, where Michelle works on the overnight cleaning crew.—
Andrew J. Campa,
Los Angeles Times,
8 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Cleanse.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cleanse. Accessed 13 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
