purity

American  

[pyoor-i-tee] / ˈpjʊər ɪ ti /

noun

• purities
  plural

1. the condition or quality of being pure; freedom from anything that debases, contaminates, pollutes, etc..

   the purity of drinking water.

2. freedom from any admixture or modifying addition.

3. ceremonial or ritual cleanness.

4. freedom from guilt or evil; innocence.

5. physical chastity; virginity.

6. freedom from foreign or inappropriate elements; careful correctness.

   purity of expression.

7. Optics. the chroma, saturation, or degree of freedom from white of a given color.

8. cleanness or spotlessness, as of garments.

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purity British  

/ ˈpjʊərɪtɪ /

noun

1. the state or quality of being pure

2. physics a measure of the amount of a single-frequency colour in a mixture of spectral and achromatic colours

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• hyperpurity
  noun
• superpurity
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• purities
  plural

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

purity purities

Once refined to improve its purity, the extracted gold is used to make jewellery for the Royal Mint's "886" brand, which refers to the date the institution was founded.

From Barron's ● Aug. 4, 2026

Centrifuges are needed to produce enriched uranium, which can be used to make reactor fuel for civilian use but also for nuclear weapons if enriched to around 90% purity or higher.

From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026

And so in “Drive,” it was the purity of love.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026

By common understanding, uranium must be enriched to a level of 20 percent purity to be deemed “highly enriched” and 90 percent to be “weapons-grade.”

From Slate ● Jul. 23, 2026

Some people find him overly stern and frightening, but that is only because he was gifted with such keen judgment and purity of heart.

From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver

But there are heroes, too, who remind us of our own potential for villainy, impure mirrors who reflect back at us the false purities we hide.

From The Guardian ● Jan. 27, 2018

And Gorky was far from alone in his scorn, as painting raced toward the purities of Abstract Expressionism.

From New York Times ● Sep. 3, 2015

As soon as you start to demand metals at higher purities then the costs soar.

From Forbes ● Aug. 19, 2013

But seabed explorers have found purities of 10 percent and higher — turning the obscure deposits into potential bonanzas.

From New York Times ● Jul. 9, 2012

The foul soul has no vision for the eternal purities.

From The Things Which Remain An Address To Young Ministers by Daniel A. Goodsell

Related Words

• cleanliness