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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Now, infernos sweep through populous towns and cities.—
Susie Neilson,
San Francisco Chronicle,
2 July 2025
Noun
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The nightmares stopped after he was released in March; the government had conceded that he and others had likely been arrested unlawfully.—
Melissa Sanchez,
ProPublica,
13 May 2026
-
My green dreams were now caterpillar nightmares.—
Emily Bryn Williams,
Los Angeles Times,
8 May 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
-
Baseball has always been a sport that believes in the occult — in juju and curses and superstitions.—
Tim Rohan,
NBC news,
3 May 2026
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Tens of millions of downloads deep, among discussions regarding ongoing bear curses and the quiet art of being a decent person, Drew Barrymore has asked about boogers and Jane Fonda has asked about hope.—
Brittany Delay,
Mercury News,
17 Apr. 2026
Noun
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When the gang comes to the attention of Major Chester Campbell, a DCI in the Royal Irish Constabulary, the wheels are set in motion for adventures through the dangerous underworlds of early 20th-century Britain.—
Connor Sturges,
Condé Nast Traveler,
18 Mar. 2026
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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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Yenor’s suggestion that feminism—with its attendant horrors of work outside the home, birth control, and financial independence—has made women neurotic and dependent on pharmaceuticals is now an article of faith on the right.—
Helen Lewis,
The Atlantic,
14 May 2026
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While the camera is locked into Dua’s perspective, the world outside her peripheral vision changes radically in ways we aren’t allowed to see; the corner of the frame practically become a venue from which to intuit horrors.—
Siddhant Adlakha,
Variety,
13 May 2026
Noun
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But the responsibility to inform should not fall on the shoulders of the women who’ve survived these ordeals.—
Tina Sturdevant,
New York Times,
10 May 2026
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Others have also turned their personal ordeals into stories of inspiration.—
Brian Steinberg,
Variety,
3 Apr. 2026
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
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Cite this Entry
“Purgatories.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/purgatories. Accessed 19 May. 2026.
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