PURGATORY Synonyms: 65 Similar and Opposite Words

purgatory

noun

Definition of purgatory

as in inferno

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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as in nightmare

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

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 purgatory Yet the Cougars and Beavers have existed in a sort of purgatory for the past two years. — Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 22 Oct. 2026 It ping-ponged between financial and regulatory purgatories that most commentators have attributed to endless permitting delays. — Sara Herschander, Vox, 22 Oct. 2026 His visits to his son’s tomb are accompanied by ghosts stuck in the bardo, or purgatory, who tell their own life stories and encourage both Willie and the President to move on. — Caitlin Huston, HollywoodReporter, 20 Oct. 2026 The band hovers in a razor-thin lacuna between heaven and hell, between ascension and purgatory, on the verge of going either way. — Grayson Haver Currin, Pitchfork, 15 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for purgatory

Recent Examples of Synonyms for purgatory

Noun

The cause of the inferno remains under investigation by FDNY fire marshals.

— Emma Seiwell, New York Daily News, 5 Nov. 2026
Unsuspecting Americans look up in shock and horror as a massive inferno erupts and engulfs them.

— James Grebey, Time, 3 Nov. 2026

Definition of inferno

Noun

Keeping your porch looking its best will become a maintenance nightmare.

— Tim Carter, Hartford Courant, 7 Nov. 2026
Druski played a nightmare birthday girl in another sketch going off on her friend Tina (Veronika Slowikowska) for eating fajitas and wearing a black bodycon dress.

— Glenn Garner, Deadline, 7 Nov. 2026

Definition of nightmare

Noun

Taking the McDavid minutes away gives us the purest form of agony these defencemen are experiencing at this time.

— Allan Mitchell, New York Times, 28 Oct. 2026
The prisoner in question, Doug Korpi, had also admitted that his agony was an act to journalist Ben Blum, who included the revelation in a broader takedown of the experiment published in 2018.

— Jacopo Prisco, CNN Money, 21 Oct. 2026

Definition of agony

Noun

On a journey to protect the fate of her children, Eliza is thrust into a perilous race through London’s dark underworld, where she is confronted by an unexpected villain.

— Desiree Anello, PEOPLE, 2 Nov. 2026
When a routine theft goes wrong and Viktor is badly injured, Malina strikes a desperate deal with a corrupt doctor, forcing them into a dangerous journey through Macedonia’s underworld.

— Zac Ntim, Deadline, 26 Oct. 2026

Definition of underworld

Noun

Lakshmana faces a difficult decision—whether to break Rama’s command or to allow the sage to unleash his curse.

— Tamanna Nangia, Encyclopedia Britannica, 30 Oct. 2026
Its quoting is generally accompanied by a Nicholson impression of dubious quality, which is both a curse and an opportunity for director Michael Arden’s expansive new production and its current star, Bradley Whitford.

— Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 30 Oct. 2026

Definition of curse

Noun

The face appears on the lower left side of The Last Judgement where the dead are rising from the ground before either ascending to paradise or descending to hell.

— News Desk, Artforum, 5 Nov. 2026
His second, a collaboration with the Times puzzle editor Tracy Bennett, was a hefty Sunday puzzle rife with just-for-the-hell-of-it wordplay.

— New York Times, New York Times, 3 Nov. 2026

Definition of hell

Noun

Teen details horrific ordeal Duarte met the 15-year-old when the girl was taking a stroll with her dog near a pool at the hotel, according to Duarte’s arrest report.

— Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 10 Nov. 2026
Shepard and Padman revisited the controversy after their guest of the day, Pluribus star Rhea Seehorn, had already signed off, allowing the actor to delve deep into his feelings about the whole ordeal.

— Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 9 Nov. 2026

Definition of ordeal

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purgatories

purgatory

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Style

“Purgatory.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/purgatory. Accessed 12 Nov. 2026.

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Synonyms of purgatory

noun

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