Library / English Dictionary

PURIFY

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected form: purified   

 I. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Remove impurities from, increase the concentration of, and separate through the process of distillation

Example:

purify the water

Synonyms:

distill; make pure; purify; sublimate

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "purify" is one way to...):

ameliorate; amend; better; improve; meliorate (to make better)

Verb group:

distil; distill (undergo the process of distillation)

Domain category:

chemical science; chemistry (the science of matter; the branch of the natural sciences dealing with the composition of substances and their properties and reactions)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "purify"):

rectify; refine (reduce to a fine, unmixed, or pure state; separate from extraneous matter or cleanse from impurities)

purge (rid of impurities)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

purification (the act of cleaning by getting rid of impurities)

purification (the process of removing impurities (as from oil or metals or sugar etc.))

purifier (an apparatus for removing impurities)

purity (being undiluted or unmixed with extraneous material)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Make pure or free from sin or guilt

Example:

he left the monastery purified

Synonyms:

purge; purify; sanctify

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "purify" is one way to...):

alter; change; modify (cause to change; make different; cause a transformation)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "purify"):

spiritualise; spiritualize (purify from the corrupting influences of the world)

lustrate (purify by means of a ritual; also used in post-Communist countries to refer to the political cleansing of former officials)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

purification (a ceremonial cleansing from defilement or uncleanness by the performance of appropriate rites)

purity (the state of being unsullied by sin or moral wrong; lacking a knowledge of evil)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Become clean or pure or free of guilt and sin

Example:

The hippies came to the ashram in order to purify

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "purify" is one way to...):

change (undergo a change; become different in essence; losing one's or its original nature)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Derivation:

purification (the act of purging of sin or guilt; moral or spiritual cleansing)

Credits

 Context examples: 

We men here, all save Jonathan, have seen with their own eyes what is to be done before that place can be purify.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

The membrane technology purifies water while preventing biofouling, or build up of bacteria and other harmful micro-organisms that reduce the flow of water.

(Novel Technology Uses Bacteria for Cleaning Water, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

One IgM phospholipid unit is equivalent to one mg/mL of an affinity-purified standard IgM sample obtained from the specified individuals.

(IgM Phospholipid Unit, NCI Thesaurus)

One IgG phospholipid unit is equivalent to one mg/mL of an affinity-purified standard IgG sample obtained from specified individuals.

(IgG Phospholipid Unit, NCI Thesaurus)

They also will compare immunization with purified capsule polysaccharide as a preventive approach (active immunization) versus using capsule-specific antibodies as a therapy (passive immunization).

(Scientists describe potential antibody approach for treating multidrug-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae, National Institutes of Health)

Kunecatechins is a partially purified fraction of the aqueous extract of green tea leaves from Camellia sinensis and contains catechins and other green tea components.

(Kunecatechins Ointment, NCI Thesaurus)

Separation of a gas mixture into purified component gases for medical use.

(Medical Gas Purification, NCI Thesaurus)

A solid composed of a small granular or compressed mass that contains highly purified active and/or inert ingredient(s).

(Pellet Dosage Form, NCI Thesaurus)

Multi-subtype natural human leukocyte IFN-alpha is purified from the leukocyte fraction of human blood challenged with Sendai virus.

(Multi-subtype Natural Human Leukocyte Interferon Alpha, NCI Thesaurus)

The use of a rotary drum, belt, or other moving filter to purify a slurry.

(Moving Filter Filtration, NCI Thesaurus)