pure
Americanadjective
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purer,
comparative
-
purest
superlative
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free from anything of a different, inferior, or contaminating kind; free from extraneous matter.
pure gold;
pure water.
- Synonyms:
- immaculate, unstained, unalloyed, unadulterated, unmixed
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unmodified by an admixture; simple or homogeneous.
-
of unmixed descent or ancestry.
a pure breed of dog.
-
free from foreign or inappropriate elements.
pure Attic Greek.
-
clear; free from blemishes.
pure skin.
-
(of literary style) straightforward; unaffected.
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abstract or theoretical (opposed to applied).
pure science.
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without any discordant quality; clear and true.
pure tones in music.
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absolute; utter; sheer.
to sing for pure joy.
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being that and nothing else; mere.
a pure accident.
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clean, spotless, or unsullied.
pure hands.
-
untainted with evil; innocent.
pure in heart.
-
physically chaste; virgin.
-
ceremonially or ritually clean.
-
free of or without guilt; guiltless.
-
independent of sense or experience.
pure knowledge.
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Biology, Genetics.
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containing only one characteristic for a trait.
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Phonetics. monophthongal.
adjective
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not mixed with any extraneous or dissimilar materials, elements, etc
pure nitrogen
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free from tainting or polluting matter; clean; wholesome
pure water
-
free from moral taint or defilement
pure love
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(prenominal) (intensifier)
pure stupidity
a pure coincidence
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(of a subject, etc) studied in its theoretical aspects rather than for its practical applications Compare applied
pure mathematics
pure science
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(of a vowel) pronounced with more or less unvarying quality without any glide; monophthongal
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(of a consonant) not accompanied by another consonant
-
of supposedly unmixed racial descent
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genetics biology breeding true for one or more characteristics; homozygous
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music
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(of a sound) composed of a single frequency without overtones
-
(of intervals in the system of just intonation) mathematically accurate in respect to the ratio of one frequency to another
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Synonym Usage
See clean.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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hyperpurenessnoun
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purenessnoun
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unpurenessnoun
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hyperpureadjective
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superpureadjective
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unpureadjective
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hyperpurelyadverb
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unpurelyadverb
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of pure
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English pur, from Old French, from Latin pūrus “clean, unmixed, plain, pure”
Explanation
The adjective pure describes something that's made of only one substance and is not mixed with anything else. For example, your favorite soft, warm winter scarf might be made from pure merino wool. Anything that's uncontaminated by extra, unnecessary, or unclean substances is pure. You can swim in pure water or wear a necklace that's made of pure silver. Pure can also mean "complete" or "absolute," especially when it describes happiness. A religious meaning of pure is "free from sin", good or wholesome. The Latin word purus, "clean or unmixed," is the root of pure.
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:
In this case, it corresponds to the probability that the device produces the correct result when given a pure W-state input.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 29, 2026
“I think it was pure luck that I arrived in the village at a similar time to the vans,” she told the BBC on Monday.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026
"At that point I think my body just went into shock and it was pure adrenaline."
From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026
That would be the choice of David Ellison, Paramount’s boss, pure and simple, which makes it more likely that he’s wielding the relocation option for leverage in settlement talks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026
“And I will pour upon you pure water,” Lev recited from Ezekiel, “and you will be purified of all your defilements.”
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
"I think young people in the village and, actually, myself, aren't as strong-spirited as in the past... People were purer," she said.
From Barron's ● Sep. 6, 2026
The purer the crystal, the longer the magnons survived.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 2, 2026
Mr. Vance fulminates: “Never have I read a purer distillation of our worship at the altar of commerce.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026
But it was LACMA’s CEO Michael Govan who persuaded him to preserve the purer approach.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 23, 2026
I believed he was naturally a man of better tendencies, higher principles, and purer tastes than such as circumstances had developed, education instilled, or destiny encouraged.
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
"They created a theatre of 750 seats in the round, a democratic arena where the alchemy between actor and audience is at its most purest form and they've created something that still feels fresh today."
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
His mute misadventures are the purest expression of animation’s freedom to do and draw anything.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
With its growth tied directly to AI infrastructure spending, “King Slide is the purest AI play in Taiwan,” J.C.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
"This work reflects a philosophy of chemistry that's designed to accelerate drug discovery in its purest form," says Moses.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 22, 2026
A look of sweetest, purest relief came over her face, even as she began to fade from sight.
From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor
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.
