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
DIVE INTO THIS BALMY SUMMERTIME SPELLING QUIZ
Do you often fall under the spell of the summer season? See if you can really spell your way through it with this quiz of popular summertime words.
Question 1 of 12
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 purify
British Dictionary definitions for purify
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