purgative
Americanadjective
noun
noun
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of purgative
1350–1400; < Late Latin pūrgātīvus ( see purgation, -ive); replacing Middle English purgatyf < Middle French < Late Latin, as above
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
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.
From New York Times ● Jun. 8, 2022
The juxtaposition of such a technologically enabled act — I recorded, therefore I was — and the most basic and purgative of elements invites irony where it is least wanted.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 16, 2018
The last act of a Shakespearean tragedy always brings such purgative reckonings.
From The Guardian ● Sep. 29, 2018
And this, too, felt like a purgative end to 2016.
From The New Yorker ● Jan. 3, 2017
Is there the purgative rhubarb or thyme that cures the long lethargy?
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
