1
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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2
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
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Recent Examples of purgatory
In investment circles, the phenomenon is known as spin purgatory.
—
Morgan Chittum, CNBC, 1 May 2025
Take the energy sector, where innovations frequently get stuck in pilot purgatory.
—Steve Smith, Forbes.com, 13 June 2025
Too sick to return to the wild, the bile bears’ futures were in purgatory, with years left in their life spans but nowhere to go.
—Ryley Graham, Smithsonian Magazine, 4 June 2025
All of that means those new deals and platforms that Sony was hoping for the beloved and money-making game shows are in legal purgatory for at least a month.
—Dominic Patten, Deadline, 29 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for purgatory
Morgan Chittum, CNBC, 1 May 2025
Take the energy sector, where innovations frequently get stuck in pilot purgatory.
—Steve Smith, Forbes.com, 13 June 2025
Too sick to return to the wild, the bile bears’ futures were in purgatory, with years left in their life spans but nowhere to go.
—Ryley Graham, Smithsonian Magazine, 4 June 2025
All of that means those new deals and platforms that Sony was hoping for the beloved and money-making game shows are in legal purgatory for at least a month.
—Dominic Patten, Deadline, 29 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for purgatory
Recent Examples of Synonyms for purgatory
Noun
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Climate change is a major contributor, as drought and rising global temperatures make the infernos bigger, faster and harder to stop.—
CNN.com Wire Service,
Mercury News,
3 July 2025
-
And days before the Formula One Grand Prix in Jeddah in March 2022, the Houthi rebels fired a missile at an oil storage facility in the Saudi city and an inferno of fire and smoke filled the skyline.—
Dina Esfandiary,
Time,
1 July 2025
Noun
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For centuries, folklore and popular wisdom have linked poor eating habits and indigestion to nightmares and restless sleep.—
Jeffrey Kluger,
Time,
1 July 2025
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None of this is meant to prompt nightmares of seventh grade civics class, raise doubts about one’s ability to pass a citizenship test, or question the arrangements for Friday’s barbeque.—
Michael Peregrine,
Forbes.com,
1 July 2025
Noun
-
The twin netherworlds—named after the mythical Greek god of the underworld and the pilot who shuttled souls across the river Styx—circle more than five billion kilometers distant from the sun, along an orbit that Stern’s Pluto expedition took nine years to reach.—
Kevin Holden Platt,
Forbes.com,
22 June 2025
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The other two-thirds are on a scale of anxiously hopeful to beyond desperate -- an amorphous netherworld of doubt that, yes, includes the Miami Dolphins with Tua Tagovailoa, or should.—
Greg Cote,
Miami Herald,
3 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Meanwhile, Joseph writhes in the agony of his own newfound girl craziness (and cleavage obsession).—
Daniel Dockery,
Vulture,
7 July 2025
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Williams was never offered any other clear pathway to finding relief—even as the agony from her fibroids was getting worse.—
Kayla Greaves,
SELF,
3 July 2025
Noun
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Ticket Information Brompton Cemetery Catacombs Hidden beneath one of London’s most atmospheric Victorian cemeteries lie the Brompton Catacombs — a shadowy underworld of vaulted chambers and crypts.—
Joseph V Micallef,
Forbes.com,
28 June 2025
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The first half of Ballerina, which is a real drag, takes us through this origin story while insisting that the essence of the franchise, in addition to nightclub fights and bisexual lighting, is lots of talk about the baroque rules that delineate its underworld of warring criminal clans.—
Alison Willmore,
Vulture,
4 June 2025
Noun
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The song breaks Booth's life-defining generational curse.—
Marcus K. Dowling,
The Tennessean,
2 July 2025
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Ancient 'pharaoh's curse' fungus shows promise in killing cancer cells.—
Staff,
FOXNews.com,
2 July 2025
Noun
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Art the Clown is going to raise hell as the Terrifier film franchise comes to Halloween Horror Nights for the first time.—
Simon Thompson,
Forbes.com,
10 July 2025
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What fresh hell will Wednesday’s Grandmama (the Absolutely Fabulous Joanna Lumley) raise at Nevermore?—
Andy Swift,
TVLine,
9 July 2025
Noun
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The ordeal happened at Carver’s Gap, near the North Carolina-Tennessee border and a roughly 65-mile drive northeast from Asheville.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
3 July 2025
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The ordeal raised questions about the efficacy of the Omnilert system.—
Rachel Wegner,
The Tennessean,
2 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Purgatory.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/purgatory. Accessed 15 Jul. 2025.
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