cleanse

/klɛnz/

//klɛnz// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"cleanse" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“cleanse” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #15,586. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#15,586
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
15
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To free from dirt; to clean, to purify.

Corpus desk

Index EN-cleanse · cleanse · English

cleanse · rank #15,586 · 10 variants · 15 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #15,586
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 15 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH char

Nearest frequency peer: char (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “cleanse”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “cleanse” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

cleanse vs clears
71% similar
cleanse vs crease
71% similar
cleanse vs cleats
71% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for cleanse
PropertyValue
Headwordcleanse
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/klɛnz/
Letters7
Frequency rank#15,586
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs15
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “cleanse”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).cleanselands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “char” (#15,585), “complains” (#15,587), “concord” (#15,588). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “cleanse” is #15,586. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around cleanse (IPA /klɛnz/), averb. Corpus frequency is #15,586 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for cleanse, with forms such as "ccleanse", "celanse", and "claense". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 15 confusable-pair relationships, "clears", "crease", "cleats", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English clensen, from Old English clǣnsian, from Proto-West Germanic *klainisōn, from Proto-West Germanic *klainī (“clean”). Cognate with West Frisian klinzgje (“to clean, cleanse”), archaic Dutch kleinzen (“to clean, purify”), Middle Low German… The correct English form is cleanse, spelled C-L-E-A-N-S-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To free from dirt; to clean, to purify.
  2. 2
    To spiritually purify; to free from guilt or sin; to purge.
  3. 3
    To remove (something seen as unpleasant) from a person, place, or thing.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how cleanse appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. An artificial kidney these days still means a refrigerator-sized dialysis machine. Such devices mimic the way real kidneys cleanse blood and eject impurities and surplus water as urine.
  2. [T]he famous Ganges: whoſe vnknowne head, pleaſant ſtreames, and long extent, haue amongſt thoſe Heathen Inhabitants, (by the Tradition of their Forefathers) gained a beliefe of clenſing all ſuch ſinnes, as the bodies of thoſe that waſh therein brought with them: [...]

Etymology

From Middle English clensen, from Old English clǣnsian, from Proto-West Germanic *klainisōn, from Proto-West Germanic *klainī (“clean”). Cognate with West Frisian klinzgje (“to clean, cleanse”), archaic Dutch kleinzen (“to clean, purify”), Middle Low German klênsen, kleinsen, clensen (“to purify”).

This word in other languages

acendrar(Español)purifier(Français)reinigen(Deutsch)limpar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccleanse
  • celanse
  • claense
  • cleanes
  • cleannse
  • cleansse
  • cleasne
  • clenase
  • clleanse
  • lceanse

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of cleanse - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

ccleanse1celanse2claense2cleanes2cleannse1cleansse1cleasne2clenase2
Edit distance from "cleanse"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "cleanse"?
"cleanse" is spelled C-L-E-A-N-S-E. The IPA pronunciation is /klɛnz/.
What does "cleanse" mean?
As a verb, "cleanse" means: To free from dirt; to clean, to purify.
What words are commonly confused with "cleanse"?
"cleanse" is commonly confused with "clears", "crease", "cleats". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "cleanse"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "cleanse" is /klɛnz/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "cleanse"?
From Middle English clensen, from Old English clǣnsian, from Proto-West Germanic *klainisōn, from Proto-West Germanic *klainī (“clean”). Cognate with West Frisian klinzgje (“to clean, cleanse”), archaic Dutch kleinzen (“to clean, purify”), Middle ... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "cleanse", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

concord#15,588cascade#15,582bullies#15,580breadth#15,579

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

diluted10 variantsanomaly10 variantsAmbrose10 variantsalleging10 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list