pristine
Americanadjective
-
having its original purity; uncorrupted or unsullied.
- Synonyms:
- untouched, unpolluted
-
of or relating to the earliest period or state; primitive.
adjective
-
of or involving the earliest period, state, etc; original
-
pure; uncorrupted
-
fresh, clean, and unspoiled
his pristine new car
Usage
The use of pristine to mean fresh, clean, and unspoiled is considered by some people to be incorrect
Etymology
Origin of pristine
First recorded in 1525–35; from Latin pristinus “early”; akin to primus prime
Explanation
If something is pristine it's immaculately clean or has never been used. So please check your shoes before walking on a pristine white carpet. A long, long time ago pristine was used to describe primitive or ancient things. It wasn’t until 1899 that the word grew to mean "unspoiled" or "pure." Ecologists strive to preserve pristine rain forests, just as vacationers are always looking for a pristine strip of beach to lounge on. A new car should arrive to you in pristine condition, and hopefully you'll do your best to keep it that way.
Vocabulary lists containing pristine
100 Words Every Middle Schooler Should Know
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Essential Academic Vocabulary for Middle School Students, List 4
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The Tragedy of Macbeth
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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.
Africa’s richest man wants to turn a pristine coastline into an oil hub.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
Inside the black silhouette of a farmhouse, a pristine white washing machine appears at an almost monumental scale, set against flat fields of saturated color.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
Astronomers have generally expected that much of the gas around these young galaxies would still have been nearly pristine, consisting mostly of hydrogen and helium, the basic elements that dominated the newborn cosmos.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 2, 2026
In 2022, it became India's first Dark Sky Reserve, helping protect its pristine skies from artificial light and putting Hanle on the astronomy tourism map.
From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026
At dawn we return our campsite pretty much to its original pristine appearance and walk on down the brook.
From "On the Far Side of the Mountain" by Jean Craighead George
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.
