c-l-e-a-n-s-e
CLEANSE means to make thoroughly clean or pure, whether physically, spiritually, or metaphorically. This powerful verb encompasses everything from basic hygiene to profound spiritual renewal.
9
Points in Scrabble
Base tile values • No multipliers applied
CLEANSE carries deeper meaning than simply "to clean." While cleaning removes surface dirt, cleansing implies a thorough, often transformative process that purifies at a fundamental level. This distinction explains why we clean dishes but cleanse our souls, clean houses but cleanse our bodies of toxins.
In health and wellness, cleansing has become a cultural phenomenon. Juice cleanses, detox diets, and colon cleanses promise to rid the body of accumulated toxins. While medical professionals debate their efficacy, the popularity of cleansing reflects a deep human desire for renewal and fresh starts. The act of cleansing becomes ritualistic, marking transitions and new beginnings.
Spiritual and religious traditions have long emphasized cleansing rituals. From Christian baptism to Hindu ritual bathing in the Ganges, from Jewish mikvah to Islamic wudu, water serves as the universal medium for spiritual purification. These practices recognize that true cleansing transcends the physical, washing away spiritual impurities and preparing believers for sacred encounters.
In modern usage, we cleanse data of errors, cleanse palates between wine tastings, and cleanse organizations of corruption. Each context maintains the core concept: removing unwanted elements to restore purity or proper function. The word suggests intentionality and thoroughness that mere cleaning cannot convey.
In Scrabble and word games, CLEANSE is a solid 7-letter word that can earn the 50-point bingo bonus. The presence of common letters makes it achievable, while the C (3 points) adds scoring value. Players can build from existing words like CLEAN, LEAN, or EASE to form this versatile word.
CLEANSE derives from the Old English "clǣnsian," meaning "to make clean or pure." This comes from "clǣne" (clean), which traces back to the West Germanic "klainja," meaning "clear, pure, or free from dirt." The Germanic root emphasizes moral purity as much as physical cleanliness.
The suffix "-se" in cleanse represents an Old English verbal ending that creates causative verbs—verbs that cause something to happen. Thus, while "clean" describes a state, "cleanse" describes the action of causing something to become clean. This grammatical distinction has been preserved for over a thousand years.
Interestingly, the spiritual connotations of cleanse appeared early in English. The King James Bible (1611) uses "cleanse" primarily for spiritual purification: "Cleanse me from my sin" (Psalm 51:2). This religious usage established cleanse as more profound than mere cleaning, a distinction that persists today.
Related words include "cleansing" (the act or process), "cleanser" (agent that cleanses), and the archaic "cleansable" (capable of being cleansed). The modern wellness industry has created compounds like "detox-cleanse" and "cleanse diet," showing how ancient concepts adapt to contemporary concerns.
•The phrase "ethnic cleansing" is a horrific 20th-century euphemism that perverts the positive connotations of cleansing to describe genocide and forced displacement
•Medieval plague doctors believed bad smells caused disease, so they cleansed the air with herbs and perfumes in their beak-shaped masks—accidentally providing some real protection
•In Scrabble, CLEANSE can be formed by adding SE to CLEAN, or built from common words like LEAN, EASE, and SEA for multiple scoring opportunities
"She began a three-day juice cleanse to reset her digestive system."
"The spa offered a full-body cleanse using mineral-rich mud from the Dead Sea."
"The ritual was designed to cleanse negative energy from the sacred space."
"Many pilgrims come to cleanse themselves in the holy waters."
"The new software will cleanse the database of duplicate entries."
"Use micellar water to gently cleanse your face without harsh rubbing."
"I played CLEANSE parallel to CLEAN, creating multiple two-letter words for bonus points!"
Body, skin, colon, dietary detox
Ritual purification, energy clearing, meditation
Data cleaning, system optimization, privacy
Pollution removal, habitat restoration, air purification
Cleansing rituals appear in every human culture, suggesting a universal need for renewal and purification. From the Japanese practice of misogi (waterfall purification) to Native American smudging ceremonies, from Scandinavian saunas to Turkish hammams, cultures worldwide have developed elaborate cleansing traditions that unite body and spirit.
The modern wellness industry has commercialized ancient cleansing practices, creating a multi-billion dollar market. Detox teas, cleansing diets, and purification programs promise to undo the damage of modern living. While critics dismiss many as pseudoscience, the persistent appeal reveals deep anxieties about pollution—environmental, dietary, and digital—in contemporary life.
Perhaps most significantly, cleansing serves as a powerful metaphor for transformation. We speak of cleansing our minds of negative thoughts, our hearts of bitterness, our societies of corruption. The language of cleansing provides a framework for understanding personal and collective change, making the intangible process of transformation feel concrete and achievable.
Total base points: 9 (Scrabble)
Vowels: 3 | Consonants: 4
Practice unscrambling letters to find more high-scoring words like CLEANSE