cleanness

I

(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)

Freedom from dirt

Nouns

1. cleanness, cleanliness, purity, spotlessness; purification, circumcision; purgation, lustration, ablution; cleansing, wash[ing], lavation; laundering, dry cleaning; sanitation, disinfection, hygiene, bathing; fumigation; irrigation, lavage; delousing; drainage, sewerage, plumbing. See simpleness, improvement.

2. cleaning, cleansing, washing; purging, purifying. Slang, bubble dancing.

3. (place for cleaning) bath, shower [bath], sponge bath; lavatory, lavabo, bathhouse, public bath, swimming pool, Turkish or steam bath, Swedish or Finnish bath, sauna, hot tub, Jacuzzi; bathhouse, baths; laundry, wash-house, coin[-operated] laundry, Laundromat, car wash; [kitchen] sink, washroom, washstand, washbasin, toilet, commode, necessary, bathroom, rest room, ladies' or gentlemen's room, outhouse; toilet paper or tissue, bathroom tissue or roll. Informal, W. C., water closet, little boy's or girl's room, comfort station, bog, [public] convenience, indoor plumbing, poet's corner, powder room; T. P. Slang, head, john, loo, hopper, jakes, jane, pisser, shitter, throne [room], ajax, altar room, marble palace, domus, chamber of commerce, crock, daisy, growler; ass-wipe.

4. (cleaning object)

a. brush, broom, besom; mop, hose, sponge, swab; carpet sweeper, dustpan, dust mop, vacuum cleaner; dishpan; automatic dishwasher, washing machine, washer, washtub; duster, dustcloth; washcloth, washrag; towel, napkin. Slang, pooper-scooper.

b. soap, shampoo; detergent, scouring powder, cleanser, disinfectant; cold or cleansing cream; mouthwash, toothpaste, dentifrice, tooth powder; purgative, cathartic; filter.

5. (cleaning person) washerwoman or -man, launderer, laundryman or -woman, laundress; charwoman, maid, day-worker; houseman; sanitation or garbage man, garbologist; janitor, cleaning man or woman, street-sweeper or -cleaner, chimney sweep[er]. Informal, whitewing, kitchen mechanic.

Verbs

1. (make clean) clean [up], cleanse, do up; keep or clean house; rinse, flush, irrigate; dry-clean; wipe, mop, sponge, scour, rub, swab, scrub; dust, brush up; sweep [up], vacuum; sandblast; wash, bathe, shower; lave, launder, dry-clean; purify, expurgate, lustrate, clarify, refine; filter, filtrate; drain, strain, percolate, lixiviate, leach; elutriate.

2. sanitize, disinfect, decontaminate, freshen, purge, sterilize, fumigate, delouse, deodorize.

3. sift, winnow, weed; groom, comb, rake, brush, sweep, card; sieve.

Adjectives

1. clean, cleanly, sanitary; pure, chaste, immaculate; spotless, stainless; without a stain, unstained, unspotted, unsoiled, unsullied, untainted, unadulterated, uninfected, sterile; sweet; neat, spruce, tidy, trim; bright as a new penny; snowy, snow-white, white; spic and span, clean as a whistle. Informal, squeaky-clean.

2. sanitary, sterile, antiseptic, disinfected, hygienic; sterilized, pasteurized.

3. (that can be cleaned) [hand or machine] washable, cleanable, wash and wear, drip-dry, permanent or durable press.

Phrases — if every man would sweep his own doorstep, the city would soon be clean.

Quotations — Cleanliness is indeed next to godliness (John Wesley), While we spend energy and imagination on new ways of cleaning the floors of our houses, the Japanese solve the problem by not dirtying them in the first place (Bernard Rudofsky).

Antonyms, See uncleanness.

II

(Roget's Thesaurus II) noun The condition of being clean and free of contaminants: clarity, cleanliness, pureness, purity, taintlessness. See CLEAN.