/ klenz; NAmE / verb [ vn ]
1.
to clean your skin or a wound :
a cleansing cream
➡ note at clean
2.
cleanse sb (of / from sth) ( literary ) to take away sb's guilty feelings or sin
—see also ethnic cleansing
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WORD ORIGIN
Old English clǣnsian (verb), from clǣne , of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch and German klein small.