purify

American  

[pyoor-uh-fahy] / ˈpyʊər əˌfaɪ /

verb (used with object)

purified, purifying

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)

purified, purifying

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

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

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

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

In less than 48 hours, several ad-blocking apps with names like Peace, Purify and Crystal soared to the top of Apple’s App Store chart.

From New York Times • Sep. 18, 2015

Purify thine own heart, and try to make it worthy theirs.

From The Virginians by Thackeray, William Makepeace

Related Words

• rarefy