purify

verb pu·ri·fy \ ˈpyu̇r-ə-ˌfī \

Definition of purify

purified; purifying

transitive verb

: to make pure: such as

a : to clear from material defilement or imperfection

b : to free from guilt or moral or ceremonial blemish

c : to free from undesirable elements

intransitive verb

: to grow or become pure or clean

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purifier

play \ˈpyu̇r-ə-ˌfī(-ə)r\ noun

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Examples of purify in a Sentence

We purified the water by boiling it.
You can purify the air with a filtration system.
a bottle of purified water
She believed she could purify herself through constant prayer.

Recent Examples of purify from the Web

The breakwaters will attract sea life and seawater will be further purified by the presence of the oysters—creating a healthier ecosystem.

— ashley dejean, Slate Magazine, "Instead of Fighting Sea Level Rise, This Town Is Embracing It," 27 Oct. 2017
Like the snake plant, the spider plant will also purify the air in your home.

— cam wolf, GQ, "The Best Houseplants That Even You Can’t Kill," 24 Oct. 2017
For decades, scientists have been dreaming of one day creating tiny nanobots that can work at the microscopic scale, building things one molecule at a time or purifying our bloodstreams.

— avery thompson, Popular Mechanics, "Researchers Built a Microscopic Robot Out of DNA," 14 Sep. 2017
Wang works in the mill, purifying molten steel and casting it into billets.

— beth gardiner, National Geographic, "China's Surprising Solutions to Clear Killer Air," 5 May 2017
Since 2011, the group has purified 1 million of the 30 million gallons of wastewater the city produces every day, performing frequent quality tests to confirm its drinkability.

— jason daley, Smithsonian, "San Diego Breweries Experiment With Recycled Water," 27 Mar. 2017
Three weeks after the hurricane, the government is now handing out 1 million water purifying tablets as well as 20,000 high volume water filters.

— CBS News, "Clean water still scarce in isolated parts of Puerto Rico," 12 Oct. 2017
This natural face mask is a fun (it’s pink!) and effective way of purifying your pores.

— aliza kelly faragher, Allure, "What This Week's Horoscope Means for You," 30 Oct. 2017
Their alliance dates back to 1745 when a tribal chief, Muhammad bin Saud, bonded with a preacher named Muhammad bin Abdulwahab, and decided to combine fighting prowess and religious zeal to conquer and purify Arabia.

— simon henderson, The Atlantic, "Is Saudi Arabia Really Changing?," 27 Sep. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'purify.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.