purge

[purj]

verb (used with object), purged, purg·ing.

to rid of whatever is impure or undesirable; cleanse; purify.

to rid, clear, or free (usually followed by of or from): to purge a political party of disloyal members.

to clear of imputed guilt or ritual uncleanliness.

to clear away or wipe out legally (an offense, accusation, etc.) by atonement or other suitable action.

to remove by cleansing or purifying (often followed by away, off, or out).

to clear or empty (the bowels) by causing evacuation.

to cause evacuation of the bowels of (a person).

to put to death or otherwise eliminate (undesirable or unwanted members) from a political organization, government, nation, etc.

Metallurgy.

to drive off (undesirable gases) from a furnace or stove.
to free (a furnace or stove) of undesirable gases.

verb (used without object), purged, purg·ing.

to become cleansed or purified.

to undergo or cause purging of the bowels.

noun

the act or process of purging.

the removal or elimination of members of a political organization, government, nation, etc., who are considered disloyal or otherwise undesirable.

something that purges, as a purgative medicine or dose.

Origin of purge

1250–1300; (v.) Middle English purgen < Old French purg(i)er < Latin pūrgāre to cleanse; (noun) Middle English < Old French, derivative of the v.

Related formspurge·a·ble, adjectivepurg·er, nounun·purge·a·ble, adjectiveun·purged, adjective

Synonyms for purge

8. oust, liquidate, extirpate.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for purger

Historical Examples of purger

The sea, that purger of sick souls, had washed away the fever and the fret of the last few days.
The House of the Vampire
George Sylvester Viereck

British Dictionary definitions for purger

purge

verb

(tr) to rid (something) of (impure or undesirable elements)

(tr) to rid (a state, political party, etc) of (dissident or troublesome people)

(tr)

to empty (the bowels) by evacuation of faeces
to cause (a person) to evacuate his bowels

to clear (a person) of a charge
to free (oneself) of guilt, as by atonementto purge contempt

(intr) to be cleansed or purified

noun

the act or process of purging

the elimination of opponents or dissidents from a state, political party, etc

a purgative drug or agent; cathartic

Derived Formspurger, noun

Word Origin for purge

C14: from Old French purger, from Latin pūrgāre to purify

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

Word Origin and History for purger

purge

c.1300, "clear of a charge or suspicion;" late 14c., "cleanse, clear, purify," from Anglo-French purger, Old French purgier "wash, clean; refine, purify" morally or physically (12c., Modern French purger) and directly from Latin purgare "cleanse, make clean; purify," especially of the body, "free from what is superfluous; remove, clear away," figuratively "refute, justify, vindicate" (also source of Spanish purgar, Italian purgare), from Old Latin purigare, from purus "pure" (see pure) + root of agere "to drive, make" (see act (n.)). Related: Purged; purging.

purge

1560s, "that which purges," from purge (v.). Meaning "a purgative, an act of purging" is from 1590s. Political sense from 1730. Earliest sense in English was the now-obsolete one "examination in a legal court" (mid-15c.).

purger in Medicine

purge

[pûrj]

v.

To cause evacuation of the bowels.

n.

The act or process of purging.

Something that purges, especially a medicinal purgative.