purge

1 of 2

verb

ˈpərj 

purged; purging

transitive verb

1

a

: to clear of guilt

b

: to free from moral or ceremonial defilement

2

a

: 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

intransitive verb

1

: to become purged

2

: to have or produce frequent evacuations

3

: to cause purgation

purger noun

purge

2 of 2

noun

1

: something that purges

especially : purgative

2

a

: an act or instance of purging

b

: the removal of elements or members regarded as undesirable and especially as treacherous or disloyal

Did you know?

In some cultures, a ritual bath or prayer is performed to purge guilt or evil spirits. The Minoans of ancient Crete may have used human sacrifice as a way of purging the entire community, which is fine for the community but rough on the victims. In many cultures, people periodically purge themselves physically—that is, clean out their digestive tracts—by taking strong laxatives; this used to be a popular springtime ritual, and herbal purgatives were readily available.

Synonyms

Verb

• cleanse
• purify
• sanctify

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 fasting

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Among the undergraduate majors set to be purged or restructured were music performance, environmental and community planning, art history, German, Russian, Chinese, French, and Spanish. —Oliver Whang, The New Yorker, 28 Nov. 2023

The call for parental notification policies has expanded into a push to ban Pride flags on school campuses, reject school diversity programs and purge classrooms and libraries of books that explore gender and sexuality or feature LGBTQ+ figures. —Priscella Vega, Los Angeles Times, 27 Nov. 2023

These tolerance checkpoints ensure that autoreactive immune cells are either purged from the body or held in permanent lockdown and unable to engage in inappropriate responses that would target healthy tissue. —Aimee Pugh Bernard, Discover Magazine, 24 Nov. 2023

Back in May, news hit that Google would be purging dormant accounts, which seemed to include countless YouTube videos. —Alphonse Pierre, Pitchfork, 3 Nov. 2023

Only a handful of studies—mostly from the 1980s—have looked into the caloric effects of purging through laxative misuse. —Lori Youmshajekian, Scientific American, 1 Nov. 2023

Scheindlin pointed to the vague ideas of an endgame floated by Israeli officials and commentators in the still-remote scenario that Gaza is effectively purged of Hamas fighters. —Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 2 Nov. 2023

Among Trump’s second-term proposals are the destruction of NATO’s principle of collective defense, the purging the civil service, and the weaponization of the Justice Department against his political rivals. —Matt Ford, The New Republic, 2 Nov. 2023

Data will be stored on the city’s cloud servers and automatically purged after 30 days. —Tammy Murga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Oct. 2023

Noun

The disappearance and purges of officials who present China’s face to the world — first, the foreign minister and most recently the defense minister — have raised questions about turmoil within the Chinese Communist Party under Xi’s command and embarrassed the Chinese state. —Lily Kuo, Washington Post, 14 Nov. 2023

The purges of the 1930s plundered the country’s monasteries and temples — there had been some 700 in the 19th century — which Orgil described as repositories of folklore, history, traditional medicine and learning. —Aatish Taseer, New York Times, 9 Nov. 2023

And so it was hoisted by a helicopter and taken to a clean room there in Utah, and then there were tests done, and then there was a nitrogen purge. —Chris Klimek, Smithsonian Magazine, 16 Nov. 2023

That's because this purge, undertaken for security reasons according to Google, only applies to inactive personal accounts. —Davey Winder, Forbes, 13 Nov. 2023

LaRose had told county boards over the summer to pause any purges ahead of an August special election, in which Republicans sought to raise the threshold for ballot initiatives to 60 percent of votes. —Tori Otten, The New Republic, 31 Oct. 2023

Recently, the Party has signalled that the purge of the private sector is over, but many have grown wary. —Evan Osnos, The New Yorker, 23 Oct. 2023

Shostakovich’s Symphony no. 5 was composed in 1937 at the height of Stalin’s purges. —Christian Hertzog, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 Oct. 2023

The White House announced on Sunday that its national security adviser met over the weekend with China’s top diplomat in Malta, as part of efforts to keep communication open between the two nations and as political purges roil elite circles in Beijing. —Edward Wong, New York Times, 17 Sep. 2023

See More

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English, from Anglo-French purger, from Latin purigare, purgare to purify, purge, from purus pure + -igare (akin to agere to drive, do) — more at act

First Known Use

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Noun

1593, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing purge

• purge oneself
• binge and purge

• purge oneself
• binge and purge

Kids Definition

purge

1 of 2 verb

ˈpərj 

purged; purging

1

: to make clean

2

: to have or cause strong and usually repeated emptying of the bowels

purge

2 of 2 noun

1

: an act or instance of purging

2

: something that purges

Medical Definition

purge

1 of 2 verb

ˈpərj 

purged; purging

transitive verb

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

intransitive verb

1

: to become purged

2

: to have or produce frequent evacuations

3

: to cause purgation

purge

2 of 2 noun

1

: something that purges

especially : purgative

2

: an act or instance of purging

Legal Definition

purge

transitive verb

ˈpərj 

purged; purging

1

: to clear (as oneself or another) of guilt

purged himself of contempt

2

: to become no longer guilty of

purge the contempt