ethnically cleanse verb1 •(euphemistic) To deliberately and systematically remove an ethnic, racial, or religious group from a specific area, typically through violence.This is utterly absurd because the impression arises that the harder someone fights, slaughters, and "ethnically cleanses" the civilian population, the more respectfully his demands must be met. — 1994 formsethnically cleansed · ethnically cleansing · ethnically cleanses