purify

American  

[pyoor-uh-fahy] / ˈpyʊər əˌfaɪ /

verb (used with object)

purifies, present (3rd person singular) purified, past participle, past purifying present participle

1. to make pure; free from anything that debases, pollutes, adulterates, or contaminates.

   to purify metals.

2. to free from foreign, extraneous, or objectionable elements.

   to purify a language.

3. to free from guilt or evil.

4. to clear or purge (usually followed by of orfrom ).

5. to make clean for ceremonial or ritual use.

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verb (used without object)

purifies, present (3rd person singular) purified, past participle, past purifying present participle

1. to become pure.

purify British  

/ ˈpjʊərɪˌfaɪ, ˈpjʊərɪfɪˌkeɪtərɪ /

verb

1. to free (something) of extraneous, contaminating, or debasing matter

2. (tr) to free (a person, etc) from sin or guilt

3. (tr) to make clean, as in a ritual, esp the churching of women after childbirth

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• purifier
  noun
• purificatory
  adjective
• purification
  noun
• unpurifying
  adjective
• nonpurifying
  adjective
• repurify
  verb
• self-purifying
  adjective
• unpurified
  adjective

Conjugated Forms

Present

• has purified
  perfect 3rd person singular
• have purified
  perfect
• has been purifying
  perfect progressive 3rd person singular
• have been purifying
  perfect progressive
• am purifying
  progressive 1st person singular
• are purifying
  progressive
• is purifying
  progressive 3rd person singular
• purifying
  participle
• purifies
  singular 3rd person

Past

• had purified
  perfect
• had been purifying
  perfect progressive
• were purifying
  progressive plural
• was purifying
  progressive singular
• purified
  participle
• purified
  simple

Future

• will purify
  simple
• will have purified
  perfect
• will have been purifying
  perfect progressive
• will be purifying
  progressive

Etymology

Origin of purify

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English purifien, from Middle French purifier, from Latin pūrificāre; see pure, -ify

Explanation

To purify something is to remove dirt, chemicals, or anything else that it's contaminated with. You might decide to purify your tap water if it tastes like chlorine. While scientists purify various chemicals during experiments, the substance that people most often purify is water. Water needs to be treated before it's safe to drink, and cities purify the water they send out to people's houses. You can also use the verb purify in a figurative way, to mean "make ritually or religiously clean or pure." This is the word's earliest meaning, from the Latin root purificare, "to make pure."

Example Sentences

Jackson, who has appeared in more than 100 films, is known for his portrayal of Jules in Quentin Tarantino’s “Pulp Fiction” and as Gator Purify in Spike Lee’s “Jungle Fever.”

From Seattle Times • Feb. 3, 2022

Jackson’s Gator Purify flies into this Spike Lee Joint like a hurricane.

From Washington Post • Sep. 25, 2019

“My reply is that no representative government can long be much better or much worse than the society it represents. Purify society and you purify the government.”

From New York Times • Sep. 11, 2018

You can use privacy protecting standalone web browsers such as Brave or Firefox Focus, or install an add-on such as Purify that will let you browse safely on Safari.

From Salon • Feb. 20, 2017

Then he calls the patriarch of Servia, Calls around him all the twelve archbishops, Bids them make the holy supper ready, Purify the warriors from their errors, And for death's last conflict make them ready.

From Serbia: A Sketch by Reed, Helen Leah

Related Words

• rarefy