1
as in infernos
a temporary place or state in which the souls of people who die make amends for their sins
It was a summer job that felt like purgatory to the teen.
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2
as in nightmares
a place or state of temporary suffering
We found ourselves trapped in the purgatory of a rush-hour traffic jam.
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Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for purgatories
Noun
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The filmmaker also resorts to that overused crutch of horror movies by which horrific events are revealed to be nightmares.—
Frank Scheck,
HollywoodReporter,
19 Feb. 2026 -
Audre Lorde kept track of her nightmares and talked about going from the nightmare to the poem.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
17 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Smith stays largely mum on the news of the day, be that Kirk’s killing, or ICE raids, or whatever hells await in the coming weeks.—
Sam Kestenbaum,
Vulture,
2 Jan. 2026
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The protagonist's youth doesn't defang the story, as Silent Hill f wastes no time thrusting Hinako and her friends into their personal hells.—
Zackery Cuevas,
PC Magazine,
23 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The earliest depictions of slavery were already crawling with the terrible proceedings the Gothic tends to depict, from bloody whippings to family curses to the wrathful wraiths of the slain enslaved.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
20 Feb. 2026
-
Gamers will know Brok as the beloved weapons dealer with an unrivaled artistry for creative, foul-mouthed curses.—
Joe Otterson,
Variety,
30 Jan. 2026
Noun
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For Aronofsky, the city’s ethnic blend has no special claim on virtue; there seem to be as many criminal underworlds as there are demographic groups.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
28 Aug. 2025
Noun
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On the surface, at least, the glitzy Russian capital, with its shops and cafes and traffic jams, is well-insulated against the horrors of the frontlines, save the occasional interception of Ukrainian drones, about which few Muscovites, frankly, spare a passing thought.—
Matthew Chance,
CNN Money,
21 Feb. 2026
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Why, Newman wrote, would Julian choose to give the world reason to doubt that the horrors unfolding in Europe were actually happening?—
Nicholas Lemann,
New Yorker,
21 Feb. 2026
Noun
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The medical ordeals are traumatic and disgusting, but fascinating and full of the quirks of modern life.—
Kelly Lawler,
USA Today,
8 Jan. 2026
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Both women survived, but are still reeling from ordeals that have drawn national attention — in part, because they were captured on video and shared on social media.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
3 Dec. 2025
Noun
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Jean-Pierre is an artifact of an age that looks recent on paper but feels prehistoric in practice—the age of pantsuits, the word ’empowerment,’ the musical Hamilton, the cheap therapeutic entreaties to ‘work on yourself’ and ‘lean in’ to various corporate abysses.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
17 Dec. 2025
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On the other side of the country, Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport, a longtime reader favorite, is a warm alternative to sterile airport abysses.—
Hannah Towey,
Condé Nast Traveler,
4 Oct. 2024
Noun
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Hadi’s exceptional attention gives cinematic identity to collective artisanal energy, to the life force of care and devotion that stands outside the agonies of politics, to the spirit that endures a regime and outlives it.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
10 Feb. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Purgatories.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/purgatories. Accessed 22 Feb. 2026.
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