Lustrate

//ˈlʌstɹeɪt// verb

verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    Synonym of purify, to ritually cleanse or renew, particularly to do so with a propitiatory offering or (historical) the lustration, quinquennial ritual of the Roman censor to cleanse the city after a census. transitive

    "We must purge, and cleanse, and lustrate the whole city."

  2. 2
    purify by means of a ritual; also used in post-Communist countries to refer to the political cleansing of former officials wordnet
  3. 3
    Synonym of pass through, traverse. ambitransitive
  4. 4
    Synonym of look, look over, survey. obsolete, transitive
  5. 5
    Synonym of luster, to impart luster to, to make lustrous. obsolete, transitive

Synonyms

All synonyms
overlookalightbleachbowdlerizebrightcast

Example

More examples

"We must purge, and cleanse, and lustrate the whole city."

Etymology

From Latin lustrātus (“lustrated”), perfect passive participle of lustrō (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from lustrum (“ritual purification”) + -ō (first conjugation verb-forming suffix), q.v. In reference to imparting luster, further via senses of Middle French lustre, from Old Italian lustro.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.