PURGATORY Synonyms: 65 Similar and Opposite Words

purgatory

noun

as in inferno

a temporary place or state in which the souls of people who die make amends for their sins It was a summer job that felt like purgatory to the teen.

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in nightmare

a place or state of temporary suffering We found ourselves trapped in the purgatory of a rush-hour traffic jam.

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Examples of purgatory in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Much like Tatum’s accent in the character, the movie proved hard to pin down and remained in development purgatory, never quite getting off the ground. —

Dan Heching, CNN, 27 July 2024 As the story goes, test footage of Reynolds as the Merc with a Mouth was mysteriously uploaded onto the internet in 2014 after years of the superhero film languishing in production purgatory. —

EW.com, 26 July 2024 The Warriors’ current roster leaves the team in basketball purgatory for at least the next season, if not longer. —

Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 1 July 2024 With the Heat seemingly stuck in NBA purgatory — good enough to make the playoffs, not nearly good enough to win a title -- is management’s desire to bypass a soft rebuild short-sighted? —

Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 11 July 2024 See all Example Sentences for purgatory

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'purgatory.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.