impurity
Americannoun
-
impurities
plural
-
the quality or state of being impure.
- Synonyms:
- taint, pollution, contamination
-
Often impurities. something that is or makes impure.
After the flood the authorities warned against impurities in the drinking water.
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of impurity
1400–50; late Middle English impurite < Latin impūritās. See impure, -ity
Explanation
An impurity is something that ruins the uncontaminated nature of something. If someone accuses you of impurity, they think you or your nature has been spoiled in some way by sin. When water is pure, the only thing in that water is water. Add a contaminant, say salt or bleach, and you are introducing an impurity, something that turns the water impure. When used with people, the word has a religious overtone. Someone who is pure is unspoiled by sin. Think Snow White. If you convinced Snow White to rob a bank with you, you'd be spoiling her good nature with your wretched impurity.
Vocabulary lists containing impurity
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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.
See Examples For:
It occurs when a single magnetic atom, such as iron or manganese, is placed as an impurity inside a metal such as copper.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 10, 2026
Synthetic indigo, commonly used to dye bluejeans, can contain aniline, a manufacturing impurity that can slowly leach from clothing and penetrate skin, says Valenta.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
It can occur during manufacturing and remain as an impurity in the finished sweetener.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 14, 2026
Using a range of analytical techniques, the Heidelberg team has now shown how the mobile and nearly immobile impurity models can be unified within a single theoretical framework.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 9, 2026
Perhaps she’s the impurity in him, the static in his signal that the bullies can sense.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
Regulators have previously raised concerns about potential immune reactions and impurities.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026
However, the graphite available in German-controlled territory contained impurities that made it unsuitable for the same purpose.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026
In its 2026 review, the European Food Safety Authority noted that the compounds detected in the rat study could have been impurities already present in the administered sucralose.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 14, 2026
As freezing begins and the ice forms from outside in, various impurities in the water get pushed towards the centre.
From Barron's ● Sep. 6, 2026
“All impurities burned out and ready for a glorious flux, and for that—more fire. And then either the slag heap or, perhaps what no one in the world ever quite gives up, perfection.”
From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
