epuration

[ep-yuh-rey-shuhn]

noun

1. a purification or purge, as of government officials considered disloyal or treacherous.

Word History and Origins

Origin of epuration¹

1790–1800; < French, equivalent to épur ( er ) to purify ( e- ¹, pure ) + -ation -ation

Example Sentences

But the rough justice he administered to Nazi collaborators during this period, called the “Epuration,” or purification, led to his dismissal in five months.

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The passions unleashed by liberation are rarely clear-cut or free of score-settling and shame: consider the excesses of the French purges of suspected Nazi collaborators — the so-called Épuration — after the Second World War.

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M. Jonnart, forbidden by his diplomatic art from meddling openly in the internal affairs of the country, caused this épuration to be carried out through M. Zaimis.

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Without a doubt, M. Venizelos was right: the épuration of the capital had not gone far enough.

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‘Ainsi procède le génie grec, moins soucieux du nouveau que du mieux, il reporte vers l’épuration des formes l’activité que d’autres dépensent en innovations souvent stériles, jusqu’à ce qu’enfin il atteigne l’exquise mesure dans les efforts, et dans les expressions l’absolue justesse.’

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