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

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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.

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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

Desert Golfing is the distillation of Angry Birds into its purest essence.
Lost For Thousands of Strokes: 'Desert Golfing' Is 'Angry Birds' as Modern Art|Alec Kubas-Meyer|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
In 2012, he voted to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank, one of the purest excresences of crony capitalism imaginable.
After Cochran’s Win: Red-State Socialism Must Be Stopped!|Nick Gillespie|June 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The sights and sounds of baseball at its purest signal that the nest in us has prevailed.
There is No Stealing in Baseball!|Michael Daly|April 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Graffiti, at its purest form, is illegal, going out, writing names on rooftops, trains, etc. for the sake of fame.
5 Pointz: When Graffiti Was King|Caitlin Dickson|November 24, 2013|DAILY BEAST

The simplest and purest emotions that he feels are criminal.
Emmys 2013: ‘Downton Abbey’ Creator Julian Fellowes’s Favorite Season 3 Moments|Julian Fellowes|August 21, 2013|DAILY BEAST
This people worked, through legitimate channels, to advance its ideal, inspired by the purest loyalty to Spain.
The Philippine Islands|John Foreman
Even the purest selfishness would dictate a policy of social insurance.
The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice|Stephen Leacock
You look at a clear perfect rich colour, as it were, through the purest crystal.
Violins and Violin Makers|Joseph Pearce
The pleasure such meetings give is of the purest and wholesomest nature.
Journal of a Voyage to Brazil|Maria Graham
A rich, tender sunshine is streaming in through the windows, and gilding the stately edifice with the purest light.
Little Travels and Roadside Sketches|William Makepeace Thackeray

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