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The words clean and cleanse have almost the same meaning; both refer to the removal of dirt. The word clean is used more literally than cleanse, however. When you wash dishes you would be said to clean the dishes; it would be unusual to describe that as cleansing the dishes. Cleanse lends itself to metaphorical uses such as, by praying he will cleanse his soul of sin. Sometimes the word cleanse is used to imply some superior degree of cleaning. Advertisers might call their product a cleansing agent rather than a mere cleaning agent, to imply that the cleaning is of a more profound nature.

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15y ago

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