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purge

To purge is to get rid of something or someone, and often it’s done suddenly. Purge rhymes with urge, and when you have a really strong urge to throw stuff away or clean something out, you have an urge to purge.

From the Latin purgare, meaning "purify," purge is used as a verb for removing impure things, whether they're guilty feelings in a person or rotten vegetables in a refrigerator. As a noun, the act of tossing out the too-small clothes in your closet before getting new ones might be called a purge. It can be a very bad act, too, as when individuals have an unhealthy urge to purge or empty their stomachs after eating or when a military group decides to purge a certain ethnic group from a country.

PRIMARY MEANINGS OF: purge

1
 vn
rid of impurities
the act of clearing yourself (or another) from some stigma or charge
2
 vn
oust politically
an abrupt or sudden removal of a person or group from an organization or place
3
 v
eject the contents of the stomach through the mouth
FULL DEFINITIONS OF: purge
1

v rid of impurities

“purge the water”
“purge your mind”
Type of:
distill, make pure, purify, sublimate
remove impurities from, increase the concentration of, and separate through the process of distillation

v make pure or free from sin or guilt

Synonyms:
purify, sanctify
Types:
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
Type of:
alter, change, modify
cause to change; make different; cause a transformation

v rinse, clean, or empty with a liquid

“purge the old gas tank”
Synonyms:
flush, scour
Type of:
rinse, rinse off
wash off soap or remaining dirt

v clear of a charge

Type of:
acquit, assoil, clear, discharge, exculpate, exonerate
pronounce not guilty of criminal charges

n the act of clearing yourself (or another) from some stigma or charge

Synonyms:
purgation, purging
Types:
purification
the act of purging of sin or guilt; moral or spiritual cleansing
Type of:
clearing
the act of freeing from suspicion

n an act of removing by cleansing; ridding of sediment or other undesired elements

Synonyms:
purging
Types:
abreaction, catharsis, katharsis
(psychoanalysis) purging of emotional tensions
catharsis, katharsis, purgation
purging the body by the use of a cathartic to stimulate evacuation of the bowels
Type of:
cleaning, cleansing, cleanup
the act of making something clean
2

v oust politically

“Deng Xiao Ping was purged several times throughout his lifetime”
Antonyms:
rehabilitate
reinstall politically
Type of:
oppress, persecute
cause to suffer

n an abrupt or sudden removal of a person or group from an organization or place

“he died in a purge by Stalin”
Type of:
removal
dismissal from office
3

v eject the contents of the stomach through the mouth

“He purged continuously”
Synonyms:
barf, be sick, cast, cat, chuck, disgorge, honk, puke, regorge, regurgitate, retch, sick, spew, spue, throw up, upchuck, vomit, vomit up
Antonyms:
keep down
manage not to throw up
Type of:
egest, eliminate, excrete, pass
eliminate from the body

v excrete or evacuate (someone's bowels or body)

“The doctor decided that the patient must be purged”
Type of:
care for, treat
provide treatment for
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