"cleansing" in the noun sense
1. cleaning, cleansing, cleanup
the act of making something clean
"he gave his shoes a good cleaning"
"cleansing" in the verb sense
1. cleanse, clean
clean one's body or parts thereof, as by washing
"clean up before you see your grandparents"
"clean your fingernails before dinner"
2. cleanse
purge of an ideology, bad thoughts, or sins
"Purgatory is supposed to cleanse you from your sins"
"cleansing" in the adjective sense
1. ablutionary, cleansing
cleansing the body by washing especially ritual washing of e.g. hands
"ablutionary rituals"
2. cleansing, purifying
acting like an antiseptic
Source: WordNet® (An amazing lexical database of English)
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