purge

noun

An act or instance of purging.

(medicine) An evacuation of the bowels or the stomach; a defecation or vomiting.

Something which or someone who purges; especially, a medicine that evacuates the intestines; a cathartic.

A forcible removal of people, for example, from political activity.

An act or instance of the cleansing of pipes.

A red or reddish liquid that seeps out from raw muscular meat consisting mostly of water and protein; "meat juice".

verb

(transitive) To clean thoroughly; to rid of impurities; to cleanse.

(transitive) To remove by cleansing; to wash away.

(transitive) To free from sin, guilt, or burden.

(transitive, intransitive, medicine) To evacuate (the bowels or the stomach); to defecate or vomit.

(transitive) To forcibly remove, for example, from political activity.

(transitive) To forcibly remove people by an organization.

(transitive, medicine) To cause someone to purge; to operate (on somebody) using a cathartic or emetic, or in a similar manner.

(transitive) To clarify; to clear the dregs from (liquor).

(intransitive) To become pure, as by clarification.

(intransitive) To have or produce frequent evacuations from the intestines, as by means of a cathartic.

(transitive) To trim, dress, or prune.

(transitive, law) To clear of a charge, suspicion, or imputation.

Roots

puruspurg- · Latin · pure, clean

Synonyms for purge

purgationn purifyv cleansev depuratev detergev lustratev abstergentadj purificationn expurgationn expungev cleaningn lustrationn ridv purgativen

Synonyms & related words for purge

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of purge — including purgation, purify, cleanse, depurate, deterge, lustrate. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to purge

Explore words related to purge — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include purger, expurgating, flush, scour, purificatory, houseclean, denazify, sanitize. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for purge

Common synonyms for purge include purgation, purify, cleanse, depurate, deterge, lustrate, abstergent, purification — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.

Where does purge come from?

The word purge breaks down into one root of Latin origin: the root purg-, from Latin purus (“pure, clean”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.