pure

[ pyoor ]

/ pyʊər /

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See synonyms for: pure / purest / pureness 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.

OTHER WORDS FOR pure

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

12 modest, virtuous, undefiled.

See synonyms for pure on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?

Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of pure

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

synonym study for pure

1. See clean.

OTHER WORDS FROM pure

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

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use pure in a sentence

Now, every major media outlet in the U.K. is working hard to make Lyman a purer-than-pure star.
Brits Celebrate Phin Lyman, The Boy Virgin Who Says He’ll Wait for Love|Nico Hines|May 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I call them Hyperserials: shows with a purer, more intense focus on one linear, series-long plotline.
Mad Men’s Dramatic Déjà Vu: ‘Time Zones’ Feels Redundant|Andrew Romano|April 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
His views mirrored theirs, but they were purer, less Boomer-indulgent.
River Phoenix’s Fatal Halloween, 20 Years On|Andrew Romano|October 31, 2013|DAILY BEAST
We are trying to build up life, Lady Hunstanton, on a better, truer, purer basis than life rests on here.
Wilde Ride|Anthony Paletta|January 3, 2013|DAILY BEAST

A less than ideal outcome for the U.S. will come at vastly less cost and risk than a theoretically purer result.
Kofi Annan’s U.N. Mission Is Last-Ditch Push for Diplomacy in Syria|Bruce Jones|March 3, 2012|DAILY BEAST
The poet "as those wreathes up go" sees Helicon's fresh founts flowing clearer and purer.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce|E. R. Billings.
Her Nazarites were whiter than snow, purer than milk, more ruddy than the old ivory, fairer than the sapphire.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version|Various
There is no purer heart on earth than hers, and none more worthy of the worship of a true man.
The Circular Study|Anna Katharine Green
Such a position affords the best natural drainage, removes dampness, avoids inundations, gives full sunlight and the purer air.
Essays In Pastoral Medicine|Austin Malley
Misreading or corrupting the purer teaching of their founder, they place their hopes in sensual enjoyment.
Beacon Lights of History, Volume I|John Lord

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 forms of pure

pureness, 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

pure

OTHER WORDS FOR pure

Origin of pure

synonym study for pure

OTHER WORDS FROM pure

Words related to pure

How to use pure in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for pure

Derived forms of pure

Word Origin for pure