pure

American  

[pyoor] / pyʊər /

adjective

purer, purest

1. free from anything of a different, inferior, or contaminating kind; free from extraneous matter.

   pure gold;

   pure water.

   Synonyms:

   immaculate, unstained, unalloyed, unadulterated, unmixed

2. unmodified by an admixture; simple or homogeneous.

3. of unmixed descent or ancestry.

   a pure breed of dog.

4. free from foreign or inappropriate elements.

   pure Attic Greek.

5. clear; free from blemishes.

   pure skin.

6. (of literary style) straightforward; unaffected.

7. abstract or theoretical (applied ).

   pure science.

8. without any discordant quality; clear and true.

   pure tones in music.

9. absolute; utter; sheer.

   to sing for pure joy.

10. being that and nothing else; mere.

    a pure accident.

11. clean, spotless, or unsullied.

    pure hands.

12. untainted with evil; innocent.

    pure in heart.

    Synonyms:

    virtuous, modest

13. physically chaste; virgin.

14. ceremonially or ritually clean.

15. free of or without guilt; guiltless.

16. independent of sense or experience.

    pure knowledge.

17. Biology, Genetics.

    1. homozygous.

    2. containing only one characteristic for a trait.

18. Phonetics. monophthongal.

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pure British  

/ pjʊə /

adjective

1. not mixed with any extraneous or dissimilar materials, elements, etc

   pure nitrogen

2. free from tainting or polluting matter; clean; wholesome

   pure water

3. free from moral taint or defilement

   pure love

4. (prenominal) (intensifier)

   pure stupidity

   a pure coincidence

5. (of a subject, etc) studied in its theoretical aspects rather than for its practical applications Compare applied

   pure mathematics

   pure science

6. (of a vowel) pronounced with more or less unvarying quality without any glide; monophthongal

7. (of a consonant) not accompanied by another consonant

8. of supposedly unmixed racial descent

9. genetics biology breeding true for one or more characteristics; homozygous

10. music

    1. (of a sound) composed of a single frequency without overtones

    2. (of intervals in the system of just intonation) mathematically accurate in respect to the ratio of one frequency to another

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Related Words

See clean.

Other Word Forms

• hyperpure adjective
• hyperpurely adverb
• hyperpureness noun
• pureness noun
• superpure adjective
• unpure adjective
• unpurely adverb
• unpureness noun

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

Rangan and others argued that pure token use is the wrong metric to optimize for.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 14, 2026

“My apologies i didn’t see this person with my eyes and couldn’t hear clearly,” Carpenter wrote Saturday on X. “My reaction was pure confusion, sarcasm and not ill intended. Could have handled it better!”

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 13, 2026

This would be a pure depth pick after the Sun added Brittney Griner.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 12, 2026

In Tehran, a 30-year-old resident told AFP he was sceptical negotiations would be successful, describing most of what Trump says as "pure noise and nonsense."

From Barron's • Apr. 11, 2026

“They went all pure on me,” said Vinny.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

Related Words

• authentic
• bright
• classic
• natural
• neat
• perfect
• plain
• real
• simple
• transparent
• true
• unadulterated