purgatory
Syllables: pur·ga·to·ry/ˈpɜːɡət(ə)ɹi/US/ˈpɝɡəˌtɔɹi/
purgatory noun: any situation where suffering is endured, particularly as part of a process of redemption. Also the alternative letter-case form of Purgatory.
Noun
purgatory (countable and uncountable, plural purgatories)
- Any situation where suffering is endured, particularly as part of a process of redemption.
- the purgatory of lost love
- […] many Gods breedeth heathens miseries, many countries trauailers humors, many wiues mens purgatories, and many friends trustes ruine:1605, Nicholas Breton, An Olde Mans Lesson, and a Young Mans Loue, London: Edward White
Adjective
purgatory (comparative more purgatory, superlative most purgatory)
- Tending to cleanse; expiatory.
- Last of all, the prodigie of Siracusa was expiat by a purgatory sacrifice, by direction from the soothsaiers to what gods, supplications and sacrifice should be made.1600, Philemon Holland, transl., The Roman Historie Written by T. Livius of Padua, London, Book 41, p. 1103
- This purgatory interval is not unfavourable to a faithless representative, who may be as good a canvasser as he was a bad governor.1790, Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France, London: J. Dodsley, page 272
Proper noun capitalized: Purgatory
Purgatory
- An intermediate state after death in which some of those ultimately destined for Heaven must first undergo purification.
- Synonyms:
- afterlife
Also used as
purgatory is also the alternative letter-case form of Purgatory.
purgatory meaning in Hindi, Marathi, Urdu and Bengali
purgatory in Hindi
- पुर्गाटोरी, पुर्गाटरी
purgatory in Marathi
- पुर्गाटोरी
purgatory in Urdu
- پورگیٹری, پرگیٹری
purgatory in Bengali
- পুর্গাটোরি, পুর্গাটরি, পুর্গ্যাটরি
More languagesFewer languages
- purgatory in Telugu
- పుర్గటోరీ
- purgatory in Gujarati
- પુર્ગાટોરી, પુર્ગાટરી
- purgatory in Odia
- ପୁର୍ଗାଟୋରୀ, ପୁର୍ଗଟୋରୀ
- purgatory in Nepali
- पुर्गाटोरी, पुर्गाटरी, पुर्गटोरी
Examples of purgatory in a sentence
- It might be […] that Ruth had worked her way through the deep purgatory of repentance up to something like purity again; God only knew!1853, Elizabeth Gaskell, chapter 25, in Ruth:
- Later came midsummer, with the stifling heat, when the dingy killing beds of Durham’s became a very purgatory; one time, in a single day, three men fell dead from sunstroke.1904, Upton Sinclair, chapter 10, in The Jungle:
Synonyms of purgatory
Forms of purgatory
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | purgatories |
| Adjective | |
| comparative | more purgatory |
| superlative | most purgatory |
| Proper noun | |
| alternative form | purgatory |
Origin of purgatory
From Middle English purgatorie, from Old French purgatore, purgatorie, from Latin purgātōrium (“cleansing”). Cognate to English purge.
Words formed from purgatory
Questions about purgatory
- What does purgatory mean?
- Purgatory means any situation where suffering is endured, particularly as part of a process of redemption.
- What is purgatory in Hindi?
- Purgatory in Hindi is पुर्गाटोरी, पुर्गाटरी. See Purgatory meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use purgatory in a sentence?
- It might be […] that Ruth had worked her way through the deep purgatory of repentance up to something like purity again; God only knew!
- What part of speech is purgatory?
- Purgatory can be a noun, an adjective or a proper noun.
- How do you pronounce purgatory?
- Purgatory is pronounced /ˈpɝɡəˌtɔɹi/ (US).
- What is the plural of purgatory?
- The plural of purgatory is purgatories.
Words near purgatory in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: purgatory (page history and authors); Purgatory (page history and authors); purgatory (Hindi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); purgatory (Marathi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); purgatory (Urdu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); purgatory (Bengali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); purgatory (Telugu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); purgatory (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); purgatory (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); purgatory (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-purgatory.wav.
Cite this entry: “purgatory.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/purgatory. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.