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

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Etymology

Origin of purity

1175–1225; < Late Latin pūritās ( see pure, -ity); replacing Middle English pur ( e ) te < Anglo-French < Late Latin, as above

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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

What’s needed is a balance between rival values and principles that is flexible, moderate and resistant to doctrinal purity.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 11, 2026

The competition and prestige more than the actual purity of the racing?

From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026

Kazan doesn’t sacrifice much of the character’s darkness, but rather enables Pugh, an actress who ably navigates purity and corruption, to play with both closer to the surface than usual.

From Salon ● Sep. 4, 2026

In the U.S., over-the-counter supplements are not regulated, so each brand of supplement can vary in strength, purity, etc.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 29, 2026

“I hate purity, I hate goodness. I don’t want any virtue to exist anywhere. I want everyone to be corrupt to the bones.”

From "1984" by George Orwell

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

Those ancient purities across my triptych window-view-of-the-sky package air as light as styrofoam.

From Unmanned by Stephen Oliver

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Related Words

• cleanliness

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