purity
Americannoun
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the condition or quality of being pure; freedom from anything that debases, contaminates, pollutes, etc..
the purity of drinking water.
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freedom from any admixture or modifying addition.
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ceremonial or ritual cleanness.
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freedom from guilt or evil; innocence.
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physical chastity; virginity.
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freedom from foreign or inappropriate elements; careful correctness.
purity of expression.
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Optics. the chroma, saturation, or degree of freedom from white of a given color.
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cleanness or spotlessness, as of garments.
noun
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the state or quality of being pure
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physics a measure of the amount of a single-frequency colour in a mixture of spectral and achromatic colours
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of purity
1175–1225; < Late Latin pūritās ( see pure, -ity); replacing Middle English pur ( e ) te < Anglo-French < Late Latin, as above
Explanation
Something that exhibits purity hasn't been tainted by something morally or physically. Children, fresh snow, and solid gold are all known for their purity. Purity comes from the Latin purus meaning "clean, clear, unmixed, chaste." When you're talking about something that is clean and unmixed, you are talking about something characterized by purity. This can refer to someone's character or intentions. It can also describe an object or element. When you're high in the mountains, far from the city's congestion, the purity of the air is a relief to the lungs.
Vocabulary lists containing purity
'Tis A Gift To Be Simple: Words For National Simplicity Day
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A Single Shard
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"Why Couldn't I Have Been Named Ashley?"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
That included at least 15-year caps on the amount and purity of enriched uranium Tehran could produce.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 23, 2026
KP Law's case alleges that J&J never issued warnings on the packaging of its baby powder and instead marketed it as a symbol of purity and safety.
From BBC • Apr. 29, 2026
We’re laughing about someone we don’t know and there’s an odd purity in that.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 17, 2026
The company, for instance, gets about 20% of its commercial revenue from data centers, and it also services semiconductor production plants where air purity is critical.
From Barron's • Apr. 15, 2026
Counterpoised against the myth of “race suicide” and “race deterioration” was the equal and opposite myth of racial and genetic purity.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
