Cleanse (kl&ebreve;nz), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Cleansed (kl&ebreve;nzd); p. pr. & vb. n. Cleansing.] [AS. cl&aemacr;nsian, fr. cl&aemacr;ne clean. See Clean.] To render clean; to free from fith, pollution, infection, guilt, etc.; to clean.

If we walk in the light . . . the blood of Jesus Christ his son cleanseth us from all sin.
1 John i. 7.

Can'st thou not minister to a mind diseased,
And with some sweet oblivious antidote
Cleanse the suffed bosom of that perilous stuff
Which weighs upon the heart?
Shak.

• to free something from dirt; to clean
  
• to free someone from sin or guilt; to purge