purgatorial

[pur-guh-tawr-ee-uhl, -tohr-]

adjective

1. removing or purging sin; expiatory.

   purgatorial rites.

2. of, relating to, or like purgatory.

Other Word Forms

• nonpurgatorial adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of purgatorial¹

First recorded in 1490–1500; purgatory + -al ¹

Example Sentences

But then it continued, traveling to the purgatorial police station, making its way into the institutional warren that represents a new reality for these characters, and the plan became clear, and interesting.

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Making his way to an archaic locale that might be the setting for a Greek tragedy or even one of his own plays, he engages in a purgatorial dialogue with his alter-ego.

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But “El Conde” is more interested in the loss of power, and in the strange, purgatorial existence that awaits its immortal subject years after his presumed death at the age of 91.

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It feels even more pertinent knowing the organization’s purgatorial position in the standings makes the choice on whether to buy, sell or stand pat by the Aug. 1 trade deadline especially daunting.

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“The Blinds,” his previous novel, takes place in a purgatorial no-man’s land deep in the heart of Texas inhabited by criminals who have had their memories scrubbed.

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