purge
verb
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Definition of purge
(Entry 1 of 2)
1a : to clear of guilt
b : to free from moral or ceremonial defilement
2a : to cause evacuation from purge the bowels
b(1) : to make free of something unwanted purge a manhole of gas purge yourself of fear
(2) : to free (something, such as a boiler) of sediment or relieve (something, such as a steam pipe) of trapped air by bleeding
c(1) : to rid (a nation, a political party, etc.) by a purge
(2) : to get rid of the leaders had been purged
purge
nounDefinition of purge (Entry 2 of 2)
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Examples of purge in a Sentence
Verb
High-ranking officials were purged from the company following the merger. a day on which the faithful are expected to purge themselves of their sins through prayer and fastingRecent Examples on the Web: Verb
Alcantara is etched in as a large part of that future, the top pitching prospect in the system and the jewel right-handed pitcher acquired in a flurry of winter trades that wiped the roster and purged the Marlins outfield. — Matthew Defranks, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Marlins' future on display as Sandy Alcantara, Lewis Brinson lead Miami past Mets," 30 June 2018 Nineteen states use voter inactivity in the process of purging their databases, though only a handful make non-voting as central as Ohio does. — Greg Stohr, Bloomberg.com, "U.S. Supreme Court Backs States’ Voter-Purge Efforts," 11 June 2018 Civil rights groups had challenged that state for having the strictest method of purging voters in the nation. — Patrick Marley, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "U.S. Supreme Court ruling means Wisconsin can continue purging its voter rolls every 4 years," 11 June 2018 Lawyers for the organizations that challenged the policy said a particularly aggressive round of purging in 2015 triggered the lawsuit. — Sabrina Eaton, cleveland.com, "U.S. Supreme Court weighs legality of Ohio's voter removal procedure," 10 Jan. 2018 Then in mid-April, Barrows purged all six members of the architectural review committee and handpicked their replacements. — Richard Webner, San Antonio Express-News, "Hays Street Bridge apartments closer to reality after neighborhood association’s support," 4 June 2018 Getty Images Last night, Blake Lively made a dramatic move on Instagram: Like Taylor Swift before her, Blake purged her feed of, well, everything. — Marie Claire, "Blake Lively Unfollows Ryan Reynolds, Deletes all Her Instagrams," 1 May 2018 Other recent 5-4 decisions upheld a Republican plan to purge voter rolls in Ohio and political district boundaries in Texas that critics argued discriminated against minorities. — Jonathan Tamari, Philly.com, "With Justice Anthony Kennedy's retirement, Trump's lasting power is amplified," 27 June 2018 In Beijing, President Xi Jinping has ramped up censorship, purged opponents and removed presidential term limits, effectively letting him rule for life. — Time, "Thailand’s Leader Promised to Restore Democracy. Instead He's Tightening His Grip," 21 June 2018Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
Twitter’s purge of suspicious accounts Wednesday has resulted in the social media platform's most popular users taking big hits to their number of followers. — Lukas Mikelionis, Fox News, "Twitter purge means fewer followers for Trump, Obama, Justin Bieber," 13 July 2018 Dershowitz’s goes on to compare his ostracism to McCarthyism, the government sponsored anti-communist purge that saw thousands of alleged communists to lose their careers in the early 1950s. — Jeet Heer, The New Republic, "Is Alan Dershowitz really a victim of Martha’s Vineyard McCarthyism?," 3 July 2018 My husband, thankfully, was on board with the purge. — Elyssa Friedland, chicagotribune.com, "We were drowning in diapers and scheduling sex. But then we got our groove back.," 9 June 2018 Kessler wrote about the reports of a Twitter purge. — Lucinda Shen, Fortune, "Twitter Sheds $3.1 Billion After Suspending Millions of Questionable Accounts," 9 July 2018 This one stars Marisa Tomei and centers on the origin of the purge. — Christopher Rosa, Glamour, "9 TV Shows and Movies to Watch This Week in Between Your July 4th Festivities," 1 July 2018 In a little over a week, the Supreme Court upheld voter purges, effectively defunded unions and upheld the white nationalist Muslim ban. — Jason Johnson, The Root, "It’s Been a Lousy Week in Politics, and Some of It Is Obama’s Fault," 29 June 2018 Reddit is growing at Facebook's expense, yet its scum-and-villainy problem continues to resurface even after repeated purges. — Eric Limer, Popular Mechanics, "When Is Instagram Going to Blow It?," 6 June 2018 Poland’s government is drafting new laws to rush its purge of the Supreme Court, racing ahead of efforts by the European Union to halt what authorities in Brussels view as a rapid erosion in rule of law. — Drew Hinshaw, WSJ, "Poland Steps Up Supreme Court Purge," 13 July 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'purge.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for purge
purge
verb
English Language Learners Definition of purge
(Entry 1 of 2)
: to remove people from an area, country, organization, etc., often in a violent and sudden way
: to cause something to leave the body
purge
nounEnglish Language Learners Definition of purge (Entry 2 of 2)
: the often violent and sudden removal of people from an area, country, organization, etc.
See the full definition for purge in the English Language Learners Dictionary
purge
verb
\
Kids Definition of purge
(Entry 1 of 2)
1 : to get rid of Ineffective workers were purged from the company.
2 : to rid of unwanted things or people The heir alone would be able to … purge the school of all who were unworthy to study magic. —J. K. Rowling, Chamber of Secrets
purge
nounKids Definition of purge (Entry 2 of 2)
1 : an act or instance of ridding of what is unwanted
2 : the removal of members thought to be treacherous or disloyal a purge of party leaders
purge
verb
\
Medical Definition of purge
(Entry 1 of 2)
1 : to cause evacuation from (as the bowels) or of or from the bowels of drugs that purge the bowels purged the patient with a cathartic
2 : to free (itself) of suspended matter usually by sedimentation —used of a liquid
purge
nounMedical Definition of purge (Entry 2 of 2)
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purge
transitive verb
\
Legal Definition of purge
1 : to clear (as oneself or another) of guilt purged himself of contempt
2 : to become no longer guilty of purge the contempt
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