purgative

[pur-guh-tiv]

adjective

1. purging or cleansing, especially by causing evacuation of the bowels.

noun

1. a purgative medicine or agent; cathartic.

purgative

/ ˈpɜːɡətɪv /

noun

1. a drug or agent for purging the bowels

adjective

1. causing evacuation of the bowels; cathartic

Other Word Forms

• purgatively adverb
• nonpurgative adjective
• nonpurgatively adverb
• unpurgative adjective
• unpurgatively adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of purgative¹

1350–1400; < Late Latin pūrgātīvus ( purgation, -ive ); replacing Middle English purgatyf < Middle French < Late Latin, as above

Example Sentences

Theater makes much of the element of catharsis, but rarely is a show purgative all the way through, as the choreopoem “Queens of Sheba” is.

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He has declared that the "liberation of women" is an "infection" that requires "the most terrible convulsions and the most thorough purgative measures."

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At times wild and purgative, the album is also full of moments like this one: poised, stubbornly hopeful, grounded in Lake’s memories of a more revolutionary age and seeking to stir that energy up again.

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The most thrilling set piece features a purgative ritual that Cervera executes with a dance choreographer’s sense of movement and a gothic artist’s eye for composition.

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The work took on an industrial, purgative edge.

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