impurity
Americannoun
-
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
ASVAB Word Knowledge
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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:
Until now, physicists have not had a clear theory that links this extreme case with the mobile impurity picture.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 8, 2026
This occurs when an impurity is so heavy that it barely moves at all.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 8, 2026
It followed concerns in several countries that the products may contain the impurity.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2024
The act’s namesake, Anthony Comstock, was a deeply religious Civil War veteran turned anti-vice crusader from New York who was obsessed with combating what he saw as a culture of sexual impurity.
From New York Times ● May 16, 2023
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
"Our research not only advances the theoretical understanding of quantum impurities but is also directly relevant for ongoing experiments with ultracold atomic gases, two-dimensional materials, and novel semiconductors," adds the Heidelberg physicist.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 9, 2026
The surface atoms are arranged in a uniform and highly ordered way, and unwanted impurities are greatly reduced.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 4, 2026
The manufacturing process can also introduce impurities — like bacteria or heavy metals — into peptide drugs.
From Salon ● Apr. 4, 2026
Ice masters look at the PH levels of the water and purify it to remove minerals and impurities.
From BBC ● Feb. 10, 2026
Lawrence and Cork had gone to great lengths, all meticulously documented, to cleanse their platinum targets of all impurities.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
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.
