cleanse /klenz/ BrE AmE verb [transitive]
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ cleaner , ↑ cleaning , ↑ cleanliness , ↑ clean , ↑ cleanser ; verb : ↑ clean , ↑ cleanse ; adverb : ↑ clean , ↑ cleanly ; adjective : ↑ clean ≠ ↑ unclean ]
1 . to make something completely clean:
Use a piece of gauze to cleanse the cut.
The water is cleansed and reused.
2 . to remove everything that is bad or immoral from a person’s character, an organization, or a place – used especially in news reports
cleanse somebody/something of something
The mayor was elected on a promise to cleanse the city government of corruption.
⇨ ↑ ethnic cleansing