Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A cleansing substance that acts similarly to soap but is made from chemical compounds rather than fats and lye.
  • adjective Having cleansing power.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Cleansing; purging.
  • noun Anything that cleanses.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Cleansing; purging.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Any non-soap cleaning agent, especially a synthetic surfactant.
  • adjective Having the power to clean.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a cleansing agent that differs from soap but can also emulsify oils and hold dirt in suspension
  • noun a surface-active chemical widely used in industry and laundering
  • adjective having cleansing power

Etymologies

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