purge

American  

[purj] / pɜrdʒ /

verb (used with object)

• purges,
  present (3rd person singular)
• purged,
  past participle,  past
• purging
  present participle

1. to rid of whatever is impure or undesirable; cleanse; purify.

   The water was purged and then tested for purity, so it should be safe to drink.

2. to rid, clear, or free (usually followed by of orfrom ).

   The raid was intended to purge the political party of disloyal members.

3. to remove by cleansing or purifying (often followed by away, off, orout ).

4. to clear or empty (the stomach or bowels) by inducing vomiting or evacuation.

5. to cause evacuation of the bowels of (a person).

6. to put to death or otherwise eliminate (undesirable or unwanted members) from a political organization, government, nation, etc.

   Synonyms:

   extirpate, liquidate, oust

7. Computers. to delete or remove (data or the like).

   Make sure to purge all sensitive information from your phone before you sell it.

8. to clear of imputed guilt or ritual uncleanliness.

9. to clear away or wipe out legally (an offense, accusation, etc.) by atonement or other suitable action.

10. Metallurgy.

    1. to drive off (undesirable gases) from a furnace or stove.

    2. to free (a furnace or stove) of undesirable gases.

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verb (used without object)

• purges,
  present (3rd person singular)
• purged,
  past participle,  past
• purging
  present participle

1. to become cleansed or purified.

2. to clear or empty the stomach or bowels by inducing vomiting or evacuation.

   A bulimic individual who binges and purges often will experience physical changes that make stopping the cycle extremely difficult.

noun

• purges
  plural

1. the act or process of purging.

2. the removal or elimination of members of a political organization, government, nation, etc., who are considered disloyal or otherwise undesirable.

3. something that purges, as a purgative medicine or laxative.

purge British  

/ pɜːdʒ /

verb

1. (tr) to rid (something) of (impure or undesirable elements)

2. (tr) to rid (a state, political party, etc) of (dissident or troublesome people)

3. (tr)

   1. to empty (the bowels) by evacuation of faeces

   2. to cause (a person) to evacuate his bowels

4. 1. to clear (a person) of a charge

   2. to free (oneself) of guilt, as by atonement

      to purge contempt

5. (intr) to be cleansed or purified

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noun

1. the act or process of purging

2. the elimination of opponents or dissidents from a state, political party, etc

3. a purgative drug or agent; cathartic

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• purger
  noun
• purgeable
  adjective
• unpurgeable
  adjective
• unpurged
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• purges
  plural

Participles

• purging
  present
• purged
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• purge
  simple
• purges
  simple
• have purged
  perfect
• has purged
  perfect
• am purging
  progressive
• are purging
  progressive
• is purging
  progressive
• have been purging
  perfect progressive
• has been purging
  perfect progressive

Past

• purged
  simple
• had purged
  perfect
• was purging
  progressive
• were purging
  progressive
• had been purging
  perfect progressive

Future

• will purge
  simple
• will have purged
  perfect
• will be purging
  progressive
• will have been purging
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of purge

First recorded in 1250–1300; (verb) Middle English purgen, from Old French purg(i)er, from Latin pūrgāre “to cleanse”; (noun) Middle English, from Old French, derivative of the verb

Explanation

To purge is to get rid of something or someone, and often it’s done suddenly. Purge rhymes with urge, and when you have a really strong urge to throw stuff away or clean something out, you have an urge to purge. From the Latin purgare, meaning "purify," purge is used as a verb for removing impure things, whether they're guilty feelings in a person or rotten vegetables in a refrigerator. As a noun, the act of tossing out the too-small clothes in your closet before getting new ones might be called a purge. It can be a very bad act, too, as when individuals have an unhealthy urge to purge or empty their stomachs after eating or when a military group decides to purge a certain ethnic group from a country.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

purge purges purged purging

Buying from the manufacturer or a carrier should cover you, but you can perform a factory reset on the iPhone or Android device if you want to purge lingering apps and data.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026

"Could it work a week after infection? Two weeks? How far can you go after infection, and still purge the virus?"

From Science Daily ● Aug. 13, 2026

And in its zeal to purge the newsroom of dissent, CBS and Weiss may have inadvertently triggered the creation of their most dangerous future competitor — and accidentally set the stage for its own undoing.

From Salon ● Aug. 8, 2026

They have been dreaming of a revolution which will remake Myanmar as a more democratic and inclusive country, and purge the armed forces from politics.

From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026

I watched the people purge their homes at the start of the new moon.

From "The Ugly One" by Leanne Statland Ellis

Similarly, the Independent has the headline: "Burnham vows to be 'circuit-breaker' PM as he purges cabinet".

From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026

The purges leave a leadership vacuum in China’s top ranks that was put on full display at legislative meetings in Beijing.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 12, 2026

The purges have left many senior military posts vacant.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 8, 2026

"The detention of Zhang Youxia was the capstone arrest of the greatest series of purges in the history of China's PLA," experts from the Center for Strategic and International Studies wrote in a note.

From Barron's ● Mar. 3, 2026

At the beginning of the epidemic, Rush used mild purges and moderate bleedings and urged patients to sit in cool air, take cold baths, and eat light meals.

From "An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793" by Jim Murphy

Previously purged under Mao Zedong's regime, Zhu was brought back into the fold after Mao's death in 1976.

From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026

Maybe you could call it a tea party wokeness, purged of pedants and scolds.

From Slate ● Aug. 17, 2026

An economic planner and later an engineer at the State Planning Commission, Zhu was purged twice during the tumultuous early decades of the People's Republic.

From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026

Take this spring’s Michael Jackson biopic, a film that purged Jackson of all of his eccentricities in an attempt to downplay the allegations that clouded his late career.

From Salon ● Jul. 8, 2026

It was on the top of a wind-swept cliff purged to the bone by the airs of the Atlantic, under which the little fishing village nestled among the dunes.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White

Dick’s spent the end of last year purging Foot Locker’s underperforming stores and inventory.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026

With a major career milestone within her reach and increased appearances in front of the camera, the sudden pressures on Maddie trigger long-hidden patterns of disordered eating: bingeing and purging, secrets and lies.

From Salon ● Aug. 8, 2026

As someone who grew up participating in many garage sales, I do think there is value in purging, even if you’re not selling items for as much as you potentially could.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 16, 2026

By Friday afternoon, firefighters had cooled the tank enough that a valve on top of the tank was no longer purging any kind of chemical.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 23, 2026

Those nursing the sick also tried to keep the patient comfortable, which wasn’t very easy, with all of that purging.

From "Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith" by Deborah Heiligman

Related Words

• abolish
• absolve
• cleanse
• dismiss
• eradicate
• erase
• exonerate
• expel
• expunge
• exterminate
• forgive
• liquidate
• oust
• prevent
• remove
• wipe out