impure

adjective

(ˌ)im-ˈpyu̇r How to pronounce impure (audio)
Definition of impurenext
1
as in polluted
containing foreign or lower-grade substances be careful, because impure motor oil can damage your car's engine

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in vulgar
depicting or referring to sexual matters in a way that is unacceptable in polite society Victorian notions of what qualified as impure art now strike us as laughable

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of impure Curtain calls In 1900, more than 6,000 people in England were poisoned by beer that had been brewed using impure sulfuric acid containing arsenic. — Scott Lafee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 Sep. 2025 This method combines impure raw silicon with pure aluminum, lowering the melting temperature compared to conventional polysilicon production. — Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 12 Aug. 2025 Women who are menstruating are traditionally not allowed to enter temple grounds, as it's considered impure in Balinese Hinduism. — Zahra Surya Darma, Condé Nast Traveler, 25 July 2025 The trash is heated to break it into crude, impure syngas, which is then zapped with plasma torches to further refine it. — IEEE Spectrum, 22 Nov. 2011 See All Example Sentences for impure
Recent Examples of Synonyms for impure
  1. polluted
  2. vulgar
  3. contaminated
  4. obscene
  5. dilute
  6. pornographic
  7. diluted
  8. foul
Adjective
  • One of the singular features of Baotou, an industrial city of 2 million people in Inner Mongolia, is a 10-square-kilometer (4-square-mile) lake that is among the most polluted in the world.
    — Glenn Zorpette, IEEE Spectrum, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Lahn, who was endorsed early in his primary by political committee MAHA Action, has diverged from many of his Republican peers in directly linking polluted water and agrochemicals to Iowa’s cancer crisis.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of polluted
Adjective
  • Continue reading … SOUR NOTE — Hayley Williams unleashes vulgar insult at DHS after agency defends ICE officers.
    — , FOXNews.com, 12 Oct. 2026
  • This has made some machine translations comically inaccurate, sometimes turning innocuous words into vulgar references in English.
    — Mohammed Sergie, semafor.com, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of vulgar
Adjective
  • To break the chains of infections stemming from contaminated needles, Soqo has proposed supplying thousands of sterile needles and syringes to communities of methamphetamine users.
    — David Cox, NPR, 26 Sep. 2026
  • After our investigation, my colleagues and I published a paper describing the anthrax cases from contaminated mail.
    — Daniel Jernigan, STAT, 26 Sep. 2026
Definition of contaminated
Adjective
  • Another bemoaned the amount of money spent on Marsh’s NIL deal, using similar obscene language.
    — Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 17 Oct. 2026
  • The disingenuous campaign ads, the obscene amount of money that is spent to air them and the promises that are rarely fulfilled are enough to make one cynical.
    — Cal Thomas, Arkansas Online, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of obscene
Adjective
  • Finally, the third recruits seaweed to gather minerals that are otherwise too dilute to chase.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 27 July 2026
  • Clean and disinfect your pruning shears between working on each plant by dipping them into a dilute 10% solution of chlorine bleach water or rubbing alcohol.
    — Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 4 July 2026
Definition of dilute
Adjective
  • On the day of the $50 million demand, a WeChat chat on one of her phones shows pornographic images arriving and being sent back with Victim-1’s face grafted on, the complaint says.
    — Catherina Gioino, Fortune, 16 Oct. 2026
  • The filing follows a separate legal battle launched by Meloni in 2024 against a man accused of creating and posting deepfake pornographic images using her likeness.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of pornographic
Adjective
  • In the spring, the Supreme Court weakened the Voting Rights Act, a landmark civil rights law, making way for Republican states to redraw their congressional maps and igniting fears of diluted Black representation.
    — New York Times, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2026
  • Use a dry microfiber cloth for routine cleaning, and diluted dish soap or white vinegar to remove more stubborn, sticky film.
    — Jolie Kerr, Better Homes & Gardens, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of diluted
Adjective
  • Shohei Ohtani emerged from the visiting dugout at American Family Field with a bat in his hand, and the mass of media members scattered in foul territory up the third-base line shifted his way, pulled by the magnetic force that is Ohtani’s stardom.
    — Maddie Lee, Los Angeles Times, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Stewart attempted a pickoff throw that went off the glove of first baseman Freddie Freeman and into foul territory for an error, advancing Hamilton to second.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of foul

Browse Nearby Words

impunity
impure
impurely
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Cite this Entry

“Impure.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/impure. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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