purify
[ pyoo r-uh-fahy ]
/ ˈpyʊər əˌfaɪ /
verb (used with object), pu·ri·fied, pu·ri·fy·ing.
to make pure; free from anything that debases, pollutes, adulterates, or contaminates: to purify metals.
to free from foreign, extraneous, or objectionable elements: to purify a language.
to free from guilt or evil.
to clear or purge (usually followed by of or from).
to make clean for ceremonial or ritual use.
verb (used without object), pu·ri·fied, pu·ri·fy·ing.
to become pure.
QUIZZES
HEED THE VOX POPULI, AND TAKE THIS WORD OF THE DAY QUIZ!
Test your memory on these verbal firecrackers from the week of June 29 to July 5!
Question 1 of 7
anchorite
Origin of purify
OTHER WORDS FROM purify
Words nearby purify
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
Example sentences from the Web for purifier
British Dictionary definitions for purifier (1 of 2)
purifier
/ (ˈpjʊərɪˌfaɪə) /
noun
a device or substance that frees something of extraneous, contaminating, or debasing matter
British Dictionary definitions for purifier (2 of 2)
purify
/ (ˈpjʊərɪˌfaɪ) /
verb -fies, -fying or -fied
to free (something) of extraneous, contaminating, or debasing matter
(tr) to free (a person, etc) from sin or guilt
(tr) to make clean, as in a ritual, esp the churching of women after childbirth
Derived forms of purify
purification, nounpurificatory (ˈpjʊərɪfɪˌkeɪtərɪ), adjectiveWord Origin for purify
C14: from Old French purifier, from Late Latin pūrificāre to cleanse, from pūrus pure + facere to make
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