purge

American  

[purj] / pɜrdʒ /

verb (used with object)

• purges,
  present (3rd person singular)
• purged,
  past participle,  past
• purging
  present participle

1. to rid of whatever is impure or undesirable; cleanse; purify.

   The water was purged and then tested for purity, so it should be safe to drink.

2. to rid, clear, or free (usually followed by of orfrom ).

   The raid was intended to purge the political party of disloyal members.

3. to remove by cleansing or purifying (often followed by away, off, orout ).

4. to clear or empty (the stomach or bowels) by inducing vomiting or evacuation.

5. to cause evacuation of the bowels of (a person).

6. to put to death or otherwise eliminate (undesirable or unwanted members) from a political organization, government, nation, etc.

   Synonyms:

   extirpate, liquidate, oust

7. Computers. to delete or remove (data or the like).

   Make sure to purge all sensitive information from your phone before you sell it.

8. to clear of imputed guilt or ritual uncleanliness.

9. to clear away or wipe out legally (an offense, accusation, etc.) by atonement or other suitable action.

10. Metallurgy.

    1. to drive off (undesirable gases) from a furnace or stove.

    2. to free (a furnace or stove) of undesirable gases.

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verb (used without object)

• purges,
  present (3rd person singular)
• purged,
  past participle,  past
• purging
  present participle

1. to become cleansed or purified.

2. to clear or empty the stomach or bowels by inducing vomiting or evacuation.

   A bulimic individual who binges and purges often will experience physical changes that make stopping the cycle extremely difficult.

noun

• purges
  plural

1. the act or process of purging.

2. the removal or elimination of members of a political organization, government, nation, etc., who are considered disloyal or otherwise undesirable.

3. something that purges, as a purgative medicine or laxative.

purge British  

/ pɜːdʒ /

verb

1. (tr) to rid (something) of (impure or undesirable elements)

2. (tr) to rid (a state, political party, etc) of (dissident or troublesome people)

3. (tr)

   1. to empty (the bowels) by evacuation of faeces

   2. to cause (a person) to evacuate his bowels

4. 1. to clear (a person) of a charge

   2. to free (oneself) of guilt, as by atonement

      to purge contempt

5. (intr) to be cleansed or purified

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noun

1. the act or process of purging

2. the elimination of opponents or dissidents from a state, political party, etc

3. a purgative drug or agent; cathartic

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• purger
  noun
• purgeable
  adjective
• unpurgeable
  adjective
• unpurged
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• purges
  plural

Participles

• purging
  present
• purged
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• purge
  simple
• purges
  simple
• have purged
  perfect
• has purged
  perfect
• am purging
  progressive
• are purging
  progressive
• is purging
  progressive
• have been purging
  perfect progressive
• has been purging
  perfect progressive

Past

• purged
  simple
• had purged
  perfect
• was purging
  progressive
• were purging
  progressive
• had been purging
  perfect progressive

Future

• will purge
  simple
• will have purged
  perfect
• will be purging
  progressive
• will have been purging
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of purge

First recorded in 1250–1300; (verb) Middle English purgen, from Old French purg(i)er, from Latin pūrgāre “to cleanse”; (noun) Middle English, from Old French, derivative of the verb

Explanation

To purge is to get rid of something or someone, and often it’s done suddenly. Purge rhymes with urge, and when you have a really strong urge to throw stuff away or clean something out, you have an urge to purge. From the Latin purgare, meaning "purify," purge is used as a verb for removing impure things, whether they're guilty feelings in a person or rotten vegetables in a refrigerator. As a noun, the act of tossing out the too-small clothes in your closet before getting new ones might be called a purge. It can be a very bad act, too, as when individuals have an unhealthy urge to purge or empty their stomachs after eating or when a military group decides to purge a certain ethnic group from a country.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

purge purges purged purging

"Could it work a week after infection? Two weeks? How far can you go after infection, and still purge the virus?"

From Science Daily ● Aug. 13, 2026

“What’s happening in crypto is the purge is just getting started,” said Mike McGlone, senior commodity strategist at Bloomberg Intelligence.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026

They have been dreaming of a revolution which will remake Myanmar as a more democratic and inclusive country, and purge the armed forces from politics.

From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026

But, as religious freedom activists point out, once the purge starts, the circle of who is considered an insider tends to shrink.

From Salon ● Jun. 10, 2026

“The skin around my G-tube is pretty badly infected. Dr. Hamid’s worried about sepsis. She’s going to purge my infected skin and replace my G-tube in the morning.”

From "Five Feet Apart" by Rachael Lippincott

Similarly, the Independent has the headline: "Burnham vows to be 'circuit-breaker' PM as he purges cabinet".

From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026

Since taking power in 2012, Xi has used anticorruption purges to consolidate control and advance plans to modernize a military that hasn’t fought a full-scale war since 1979, when China battled Vietnam.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 7, 2026

The pair were among dozens of senior military figures ousted in the most extensive purges since the Mao era.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 7, 2026

Authorities gave no explanation for the ousters but they come as China's purges of military top brass have picked up pace in recent weeks.

From BBC ● Mar. 3, 2026

The two of them must evidently have been swallowed up in one of the first great purges of the Fifties.

From "1984" by George Orwell

Maybe you could call it a tea party wokeness, purged of pedants and scolds.

From Slate ● Aug. 17, 2026

An economic planner and later an engineer at the State Planning Commission, Zhu was purged twice during the tumultuous early decades of the People's Republic.

From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026

Take this spring’s Michael Jackson biopic, a film that purged Jackson of all of his eccentricities in an attempt to downplay the allegations that clouded his late career.

From Salon ● Jul. 8, 2026

Manzo purged the municipal police and pleaded with the federal government to send troops and military-grade weapons to Uruapan.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 18, 2026

Technically, these aren’t the people who purged Ben.

From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera

With a major career milestone within her reach and increased appearances in front of the camera, the sudden pressures on Maddie trigger long-hidden patterns of disordered eating: bingeing and purging, secrets and lies.

From Salon ● Aug. 8, 2026

As someone who grew up participating in many garage sales, I do think there is value in purging, even if you’re not selling items for as much as you potentially could.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 16, 2026

By Friday afternoon, firefighters had cooled the tank enough that a valve on top of the tank was no longer purging any kind of chemical.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 23, 2026

But I do think this particular controversy has tapped into something deeper, purging a spiritual angst that has long surrounded liberal culture.

From Slate ● Apr. 13, 2026

“He’s wrong. He’s wrong about the bleeding and purging and the rest, he was wrong when he dosed you, and he’s wrong now. It’s a wonder any of his patients survive.”

From "Kindred" by Octavia Butler

Related Words

• abolish
• absolve
• cleanse
• dismiss
• eradicate
• erase
• exonerate
• expel
• expunge
• exterminate
• forgive
• liquidate
• oust
• prevent
• remove
• wipe out