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.
The pristine look, edged by Japanese boxwood, is a world away from the ragged stretch that greeted them when they moved in.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
However, those same cold traps could also collect organic compounds released by visiting spacecraft, potentially obscuring the pristine material scientists hope to study.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 13, 2026
The writing, in Daniel Bowles’s translation from the German, is glass-like and pristine, colored by the characters’ changing moods the way a window is touched by light and shadow.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
"I imagine everything will be very polished, pristine - again, romantic is that key word," she said.
From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026
The shiny black marble floor was pristine and looked freshly mopped, the spindly silver tables and chairs along the wall neatly lined up.
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
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.
