pristine
adjective
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When pristine was anglicized in the 16th century, people borrowed the meanings of "early" and "original" from the Latin word pristinus and applied those meanings to what is desirable as well as to what is not. But it has long been a tendency of civilized people to admire a simpler and unsullied past. The supposition is that when things were in their oldest or original state, they were better. Thus, pristine was extended to describe the notion of an unspoiled, uncorrupted, or unpolluted state. And what is unspoiled or uncontaminated may connote the freshness and cleanness of something that has just been made, which explains how pristine has also come to mean "fresh and clean."
Examples of pristine in a Sentence
Madhuri Vijay, New Yorker, 16 Nov. 2025
Winter Basecamp Kingston Resorts serves as the perfect headquarters, sprawling across 157 acres with over half a mile of pristine beach.
—Lisa A. Beach, USA Today, 13 Nov. 2025
For all the attention paid to the drama surrounding its creation, the true brilliance of Rumours lies in the music itself, bolstered by meticulous production, pristine harmonies and top tier song craft.
—Jordan Runtagh, PEOPLE, 12 Nov. 2025
Some people argue that Mars — or any untouched world — should remain pristine, a kind of cosmic wilderness.
—Big Think, 12 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pristine
Cite this Entry
“Pristine.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pristine. Accessed 24 Nov. 2025.
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pristine
adjective
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