Synonyms of purify

purify

verb

ˈpyu̇r-ə-ˌfī 

1

as in to purge

to free from moral guilt or blemish especially ceremonially

Catholics go to confession to be purified

Synonyms & Similar Words

• purge
• cleanse
• heal
• restore
• sanctify
• improve
• refine
• amend
• regenerate
• elevate
• uplift
• vindicate
• exonerate
• absolve
• acquit
• ennoble
• clear

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• degrade
• corrupt
• defile
• stain
• debase
• demean
• poison
• warp
• pervert
• prostitute
• deprave
• profane
• debauch
• tarnish
• sully

2

as in to filter

to remove usually visible impurities from

purify the water by distillation

Synonyms & Similar Words

• filter
• clarify
• refine
• extract
• clean
• wash
• fine
• purge
• distill
• process
• clear
• cleanse
• rectify
• decontaminate
• sift
• garble
• disinfect
• leach
• sanitize
• elutriate
• sieve
• screen
• bolt

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• soil
• dull
• contaminate
• muddy
• dirty
• cloud
• pollute
• defile
• taint
• besmirch
• sully
• foul
• begrime

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of purify

The amount may be infinitesimal—white sugar and bottled water are sometimes purified with charred animal bones, for instance—but some hypersensitive alpha-gal patients avoid the risk anyway. — Burkhard Bilger, New Yorker, 29 June 2026

The company could use an electric smelter to melt and purify the iron before feeding it into Gary’s existing oxygen furnaces or into the kind of electric arc furnace already built in Arkansas. — John Lippert, Chicago Tribune, 28 June 2026

In terms of drinks, colonists didn't have ways to purify their water, so people drank small beer or weak wine, Miller said. — Ava Berger, NPR, 28 June 2026

But that doesn’t matter because that’s been purified. — Bart Jansen, USA Today, 23 June 2026