Purify

//ˈpjʊəɹɪfaɪ// verb

verb ·Moderate ·High school level

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To cleanse, or rid of impurities. transitive

    "The modern arts deviate from the standards set forth by the divine—art should be used to purify one’s heart and improve one’s morality."

  2. 2
    remove impurities from, increase the concentration of, and separate through the process of distillation wordnet
  3. 3
    To free from guilt or sin. transitive
  4. 4
    make pure or free from sin or guilt wordnet
  5. 5
    To become pure. intransitive
Show 1 more definition
  1. 6
    become clean or pure or free of guilt and sin wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
abateabradeabsolveabstractacquitatone

Example

More examples

"Iodine is used to purify water."

Etymology

From Middle English purifien, purifyen, from Old French purifier, purifiier, from Latin pūrificō, pūrificāre, from pūrus (“pure; clean”).

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