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PURE
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
In a state of sexual virginity
Example:
men have decreed that their women must be pure and virginal
Synonyms:
pure; vestal; virgin; virginal; virtuous
Classified under:
Similar:
chaste (morally pure (especially not having experienced sexual intercourse))
Derivation:
pureness (a woman's virtue or chastity)
pureness (the state of being unsullied by sin or moral wrong; lacking a knowledge of evil)
purity (a woman's virtue or chastity)
Sense 2
Meaning:
(of color) being chromatically pure; not diluted with white or grey or black
Synonyms:
pure; saturated
Classified under:
Similar:
intense; vivid ((of color) having the highest saturation)
Derivation:
pureness (being undiluted or unmixed with extraneous material)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Concerned with theory and data rather than practice; opposed to applied
Example:
pure science
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
theoretical (concerned with theories rather than their practical applications)
Sense 4
Meaning:
Free from discordant qualities
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
harmonious (musically pleasing)
Sense 5
Meaning:
Without qualification; used informally as (often pejorative) intensifiers
Example:
the unadulterated truth
Synonyms:
arrant; complete; consummate; double-dyed; everlasting; gross; perfect; pure; sodding; staring; stark; thorough; thoroughgoing; unadulterated; utter
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
unmitigated (not diminished or moderated in intensity or severity; sometimes used as an intensifier)
Sense 6
Meaning:
(used of persons or behaviors) having no faults; sinless
Example:
pure as the driven snow
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
immaculate; undefiled (free from stain or blemish)
white (free from moral blemish or impurity; unsullied)
Also:
chaste (morally pure (especially not having experienced sexual intercourse))
Attribute:
morality (concern with the distinction between good and evil or right and wrong; right or good conduct)
Antonym:
impure ((used of persons or behaviors) immoral or obscene)
Derivation:
pureness; purity (the state of being unsullied by sin or moral wrong; lacking a knowledge of evil)
Sense 7
Meaning:
Free of extraneous elements of any kind
Example:
pure oxygen
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
virginal (untouched or undefiled)
uncontaminated; unpolluted (free from admixture with noxious elements; clean)
unalloyed (free from admixture)
unadulterated (not mixed with impurities)
sublimate (made pure)
straight up ((of an alcoholic drink) stirred or shaken with ice, but served without it)
pristine (completely free from dirt or contamination)
plain; sheer; unmingled; unmixed (not mixed with extraneous elements)
native (as found in nature in the elemental form)
fine (free from impurities; having a high or specified degree of purity)
clean; clear; light; unclouded ((of sound or color) free from anything that dulls or dims)
clean; fresh (free from impurities)
axenic ((used of cultures of microorganisms) completely free from other organisms)
Also:
clean (ritually clean or pure)
processed (prepared or converted from a natural state by subjecting to a special process)
Attribute:
pureness; purity (being undiluted or unmixed with extraneous material)
Antonym:
impure (combined with extraneous elements)
Derivation:
pureness; purity (being undiluted or unmixed with extraneous material)
Context examples:
They were lips of pure spirit, and his desire for them seemed absolutely different from the desire that had led him to other women's lips.
(Martin Eden, by Jack London)
An ultra-pure form of water with potential antineoplastic activity.
(Distilled Water, NCI Thesaurus)
Every time I brought the stuff back, there would be another paper telling me to return it, because it was not pure, and another order to a different firm.
(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)
Due to intense gravity, white dwarfs are expected to have chemically pure surfaces, covered only with light elements of helium and hydrogen.
(K2 Finds Dead Star Vaporizing a Mini 'Planet', NASA)
I perceive that there is no possible means by which it can be kept pure from roguery.
(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
With a purer spirit did Fanny rejoice in the intelligence.
(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)
“So pure, so peaceful, and so beautiful!”
(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
A fine open sea, he says, and very pure air.
(Emma, by Jane Austen)
Her heart was not so much at ease, nor her satisfaction in their amusements so pure.
(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)
It is a pure matter of form.
(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
