purgation

American  

[pur-gey-shuhn] / pɜrˈgeɪ ʃən /

noun

1. the act of purging.

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purgation British  

/ pɜːˈɡeɪʃən /

noun

1. the act of purging or state of being purged; purification

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Other Word Forms

• nonpurgation noun
• superpurgation noun

Etymology

Origin of purgation

1325–75; Middle English purgacioun (< Anglo-French ) < Latin pūrgātiōn- (stem of pūrgātiō ) a cleansing, purging, equivalent to pūrgāt ( us ) (past participle of pūrgāre to make clean or pure, derivative of pūrus pure ) + -iōn- -ion

Example Sentences

We do serious metaphysical work for them—aiding their future, speeding their purgation, and keeping them present in the thick cosmos that surrounds us.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 6, 2025

Masli responded by dreaming up a ritual involving a sock that was set on fire in symbolic purgation of burdensome resentments.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 21, 2025

The seventh and eighth centuries saw the growth of teaching about an intermediate place where souls undergo purification and purgation.

From Salon • Nov. 30, 2019

And to lose that call, in this era of scandal and unfinished purgation, could easily leave only the corruption, undiluted and unchecked.

From New York Times • Feb. 23, 2019

“You know quite well,” he said, “that trial by ordeal has been abolished, and, as for doing it by purgation, it would be impossible to find the necessary number of peers for a Queen.”

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White