pure

[ pyoor ]

/ pyʊər /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR pure ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective, pur·er, pur·est.

free from anything of a different, inferior, or contaminating kind; free from extraneous matter: pure gold; pure water.

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.

abstract or theoretical (opposed to applied): pure science.

without any discordant quality; clear and true: pure tones in music.

absolute; utter; sheer: to sing for pure joy.

being that and nothing else; mere: a pure accident.

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.

Biology, Genetics.

homozygous.
containing only one characteristic for a trait.

Phonetics. monophthongal.

Nearby words

Origin of pure

1250–1300; Middle English pur < Old French < Latin pūrus clean, unmixed, plain, pure

SYNONYMS FOR pure

1. unmixed, unadulterated, unalloyed, uncontaminated, untainted, unstained, undefiled, untarnished, immaculate, unpolluted, uncorrupted. 12. modest, virtuous, undefiled.

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Related forms

pure·ness, nounhy·per·pure, adjectivehy·per·pure·ly, adverbhy·per·pure·ness, noun

su·per·pure, adjectiveun·pure, adjectiveun·pure·ly, adverbun·pure·ness, noun

Synonym study

1. See clean.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for pure

What designer West lacks in productivity, he more than makes up for in pure, unadulterated confidence and blind anger.
Kanye West and Kim Kardashian’s Balmain Campaign: High Fashion Meets Low Culture|Amy Zimmerman|December 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Everything else is pure speculation and the promulgation of fear.
The Black Panther Bomb Plot in St. Louis That Wasn’t|Justin Glawe|December 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Much of the drama that transpires towards the end of the story is due to the pure love itself, not in spite of it.
The Japanese Women Who Love Gay Anime|Brandon Presser|December 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Of course, Sesame Street's songs weren't only educational; from a pure tuneage perspective, the music was pretty kickass.
‘Sesame Street’ Is Middle-Aged and Awesome|Emily Shire|November 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST

By pure chance I had been posted to Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers in Europe, SHAPE, on the outskirts of Paris.
I Saw Nuclear Armageddon Sitting on My Desk|Clive Irving|November 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Now that the storm was over, it was a pure and innocent happiness to be with him.
The White Sister|F. Marion Crawford
I tell you she is pure as those above—but there is his blood upon my hands.
The Star-Gazers|George Manville Fenn
Good sense, a respectable education, and a pure heart, are the great requisitions.
The Young Maiden|A. B. (Artemas Bowers) Muzzey
The Court was pure; the persons of the Sovereign and her Consort profoundly respected.
The Greville Memoirs (Second Part)|Charles C. F. Greville
Sister Shriner is boiling over with railing toward God's pure little ones.
Birth of a Reformation|Andrew Byers

British Dictionary definitions for pure

pure

/ (pjʊə) /

adjective

not mixed with any extraneous or dissimilar materials, elements, etcpure nitrogen

free from tainting or polluting matter; clean; wholesomepure water

free from moral taint or defilementpure love

(prenominal) (intensifier)pure stupidity; a pure coincidence

(of a subject, etc) studied in its theoretical aspects rather than for its practical applicationspure mathematics; pure science Compare applied

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

(of a consonant) not accompanied by another consonant

of supposedly unmixed racial descent

genetics biology breeding true for one or more characteristics; homozygous

music

(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

Derived Formspureness, noun

Word Origin for pure

C13: from Old French pur, from Latin pūrus unstained

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for pure

pure

adj.

c.1300 (late 12c. as a surname, and Old English had purlamb "lamb without a blemish"), "unmixed," also "absolutely, entirely," from Old French pur "pure, simple, absolute, unalloyed," figuratively "simple, sheer, mere" (12c.), from Latin purus "clean, clear; unmixed; unadorned; chaste, undefiled," from PIE root *peue- "to purify, cleanse" (cf. Latin putus "clear, pure;" Sanskrit pavate "purifies, cleanses," putah "pure;" Middle Irish ur "fresh, new;" Old High German fowen "to sift").

Replaced Old English hlutor. Meaning "free from moral corruption" is first recorded mid-14c. In reference to bloodlines, attested from late 15c.

Medicine definitions for pure

pure

[ pyur ]

adj.

Having a homogeneous or uniform composition; not mixed.

Free from adulterants or impurities.

Produced by self-fertilization or continual inbreeding; homozygous.

pure

adjective, pur·er, pur·est.

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Origin of pure

Synonym study

Examples from the Web for pure

pure

adjective

Word Origin for pure

pure

pure

adj.