purgatory

American  

[pur-guh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee] / ˈpɜr gəˌtɔr i, -ˌtoʊr i /

noun

purgatories plural

1. (in the belief of Roman Catholics and others) a condition or place in which the souls of those dying penitent are purified from venial sins, or undergo the temporal punishment that, after the guilt of mortal sin has been remitted, still remains to be endured by the sinner.

2. Italian Purgatorio.  (initial capital letter, italics) the second part of Dante's Divine Comedy, in which the repentant sinners are depicted.

3. any condition or place of temporary punishment, suffering, expiation, or the like.

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adjective

1. serving to cleanse, purify, or expiate.

purgatory British  

/ ˈpɜːɡətərɪ, -trɪ /

noun

1. RC Church a state or place in which the souls of those who have died in a state of grace are believed to undergo a limited amount of suffering to expiate their venial sins and become purified of the remaining effects of mortal sin

2. a place or condition of suffering or torment, esp one that is temporary

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purgatory Cultural  

1. In the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church, the condition of souls of the dead who die with some punishment (though not damnation) due them for their sins. Purgatory is conceived as a condition of suffering and purification that leads to union with God in heaven. Purgatory is not mentioned in the Bible (see also Bible); Catholic authorities defend the teaching on purgatory by arguing that prayer for the dead is an ancient practice of Christianity and that this practice assumes that the dead can be in a state of suffering — a state that the living can improve by their prayers.

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Discover More

A “purgatory” is, by extension, any place of suffering, usually for past misdeeds.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• purgatories
  plural

Etymology

Origin of purgatory

First recorded in 1175–1225; (for the noun) Middle English purgatorie, from Anglo-French, from Medieval Latin pūrgātōrium, noun use of neuter of Late Latin pūrgātōrius “purging,” from pūrgā(re) “to purge” ( see purge) + -tōrius -tory ¹; adjective derivative of the noun

Explanation

Being stuck in standstill traffic can feel like purgatory, but this brief spell of unpleasantness is nothing compared to the misery endured by souls waiting to get into heaven, which is the original meaning of the word. Purgatory comes from a Late Latin verb meaning "to cleanse" — purge shares the same root. In Roman Catholic doctrine, souls atoned for past sins in purgatory before entering heaven. In fact, for centuries, purgatory was often regarded as an actual physical place. Today, if you say you are in purgatory, you feel stuck or not able to continue towards a goal. High school might feel like purgatory because even though you're finished with your carefree childhood, you don't have the freedoms of adulthood yet.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

purgatory purgatories

They feel like suburban purgatory, liminal implying a state in between reality and dream.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 6, 2026

To call it purgatory would imply that this is not Clark’s final destination.

From Salon ● May 30, 2026

“I happen to have a bit of experience ... in my own rebuilding purgatory in the Palisades,” Pratt said.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2026

Alonso's career, meanwhile, became a kind of living purgatory.

From BBC ● Feb. 24, 2026

I can accept purgatory if heaven is beyond it.

From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman

He could ask Washingtonians and Puerto Ricans for forgiveness over not righting their untenable political purgatories.

From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2024

Treasury officials, who are trying to brace the public for refund delays, service disruptions, interminable telephone-hold purgatories and other unpleasantries that taxpayers will face over the next few months.

From Washington Post ● Jan. 13, 2022

These upheavals and tragedies pierce the illusions we have constructed and leave us trapped and spellbound in self-inflicted and imposed purgatories.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 8, 2019

It was a modest success, yet Ms. Wyatt spent the next several years mired in various record-label purgatories, a moist, bright voice lost to time.

From New York Times ● Jun. 24, 2011

When Hans Wyker had seen his own town wane as Careyville waxed, he consigned the newer community, and all that it was, to all the purgatories ever organized and some yet to be created.

From Winning the Wilderness by Marchand, J. N.

Related Words

• limbo