cleanse

cleanse
   1. to free from enemy occupation or sympathizers
   The traditional job of the infantry:
    ... paramilitary elements trained and drilled in a special school and sent to 'cleanse' (US word) pacified hamlets. (M. McCarthy, 1967)
   See also clean2.
   2. to remove the placenta from domestic cattle
   Veterinary jargon:
    I was 'cleansing' a cow (removing the afterbirth). (Herriot, 1981)

How not to say what you mean: A dictionary of euphemisms. . 2014.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?
Synonyms:

Look at other dictionaries:

  • cleanse — [klenz] v [T] 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… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • cleanse — [ klenz ] verb 1. ) intransitive or transitive to clean your skin by using a special liquid or cream: To have perfect skin you must cleanse, tone, and moisturize. a cleansing cream a ) transitive to clean a cut in your skin 2. ) transitive FORMAL …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • Cleanse — (kl[e^]nz), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Cleansed} (kl[e^]nzd); p. pr. & vb. n. {Cleansing}.] [AS. cl[=ae]nsian, fr. cl[=ae]ne clean. See {Clean}.] To render clean; to free from fith, pollution, infection, guilt, etc.; to clean. [1913 Webster] If we walk …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • cleanse — (v.) O.E. clænsian to cleanse, purge, purify, chasten, justify, from W.Gmc. *klainson, from *klainoz (see CLEAN (Cf. clean)). Despite its modern spelling (16c.), it retains its M.E. pronunciation. Related: Cleansed; CLEANSING (Cf. cleansing) …   Etymology dictionary

  • Cleanse — may refer to: Cleanliness, the state of being clean and free from dirt. Detoxification, an alternative medicine approach that proponents claim rids the body of toxins. This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an …   Wikipedia

  • cleanse — index decontaminate, expurgate, purge (purify) Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • cleanse — klenz vt, cleansed; cleans·ing to make clean …   Medical dictionary

  • cleanse — *clean Analogous words: *sterilize, disinfect, sanitize Antonyms: defile, besmirch …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • cleanse — [v] make undirty; wash absolve, clarify, clean, clear, depurgate, disinfect, expurgate, launder, lustrate, purge, purify, refine, restore, rinse, sanitize, scour, scrub, sterilize; concept 165 Ant. dirty, soil, spot …   New thesaurus

  • cleanse — ► VERB 1) make thoroughly clean. 2) rid of something unpleasant or unwanted. ► NOUN ▪ an act of cleansing. DERIVATIVES cleanser noun cleansing adjective. ORIGIN Old English …   English terms dictionary

  • cleanse — [klenz] vt. cleansed, cleansing [ME clensen < OE clænsian < clæne,CLEAN] to make clean, pure, etc.; clean; purge SYN. CLEAN …   English World dictionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”