clean，cleanse

用作动词时，clean很易和另一动词cleanse混淆不清。

Clean的意思是“使洁净”、“把…去垢”(to make clean by washing，dusting，sweeping or brushing)。如：to clean a dress，room，hand，shoe，watch等。例：

Please clean your shoes.

请把鞋刷干净。

He cleaned the floor with water.

他用水冲洗地板。

I have got my watch cleaned in a watch-shop.

我的表已在一家钟表店清洁过了。

Cleanse的意思是“清洗干净”，“使…纯洁”(to make thoroughly clean or make pure)。为此，cleanse含有“彻底洗清”之意味，语义比clean强得多。clean和cleanse的另一区别是前者为一般用语;后者是正式的(formal)或古旧的用语，有时它还能用于比喻意义，例如to cleanse one’s soul洗涤心灵;to cleanse the heart of sin 洗心革面;ethnic cleansing种族清洗/灭绝。

下面请看例句：

We have cleansed the garden of weeds.

我们已把花园里的杂草清除干净。

She bought some detergent and antiseptic from a dyeing and cleansing store.

她从一家洗染商店买了洗洁精和消毒剂。

You must cleanse your heart and soul.

你必须洗心革面，重新做人。

Cleansed of guilt by atonement，he felt light of heart again.

通过赎罪的方式洗清他的罪行后，他的心变得再次安乐。

That tribe is facing ethnic cleansing.

那部落正面临种族灭绝的厄运。

请注意，cleanser是cleanse的名词，它有两个不同的意义，一个是“清洁剂”(a liquid we use for cleaning something)，另一个是“做清洁工作的人”(a person who is employed to clean something)。