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 killing scenes of the regime were so fresh in my nightmares when the war began and now the sound of airstrikes and fighter jets added to them.—
Somayeh Malekian,
ABC News,
18 June 2026
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Older children may have panic attacks, nightmares, and difficulty focusing, Mendoza said.—
Claudia Boyd-Barrett,
CBS News,
18 June 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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Their greatest gifts are their biggest curses.—
Sam Stone,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
18 June 2026
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Mostly, the show is an eccentric yet seamless mix of black humor and horror, with Wyck trying to convince Loftis that the island’s curses are real.—
Stephen Rodrick,
Rolling Stone,
16 June 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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Foul odors coming from the Ocean Hill apartment led to a 911 call on Wednesday that revealed the place’s horrors.—
Leonard Greene,
New York Daily News,
19 June 2026
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Aside from a bloodied ear here or there, most of the horrors in Leviticus are implied rather than shown.—
Stephanie Zacharek,
Time,
18 June 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
Noun
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Meanwhile, Phillips said, victims are left to live with the impacts of the perpetrators’ actions — with the survivors in this case forced to continue to relive their ordeals as the case continues on to the Court of Appeal.—
Chantal Da Silva,
NBC news,
3 June 2026
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And for that matter, how could adults accurately account for such ordeals?—
Emily Watlington,
ARTnews.com,
24 May 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Purgatories.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/purgatories. Accessed 21 Jun. 2026.
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