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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Recent Examples of purgatory
Miami is stuck in play-in purgatory with the second lowest-scoring team of 20 currently in on playoff pace.
—
Greg Cote, Miami Herald, 16 Mar. 2025
This emotional purgatory can last months, or perhaps even years.
—Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 25 Apr. 2025
The other won two games to advance from play-in purgatory to eke into the playoffs proper and earn the right to experience the hard slap that is a 2-0 hole.
—Greg Cote, Miami Herald, 24 Apr. 2025
Ao Bing was raised by dragons condemned to guard an underwater monster purgatory.
—Carlos Aguilar, Variety, 2 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for purgatory
Greg Cote, Miami Herald, 16 Mar. 2025
This emotional purgatory can last months, or perhaps even years.
—Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 25 Apr. 2025
The other won two games to advance from play-in purgatory to eke into the playoffs proper and earn the right to experience the hard slap that is a 2-0 hole.
—Greg Cote, Miami Herald, 24 Apr. 2025
Ao Bing was raised by dragons condemned to guard an underwater monster purgatory.
—Carlos Aguilar, Variety, 2 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for purgatory
Recent Examples of Synonyms for purgatory
Noun
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Thursday that 18 suspects have been arrested for alleged arson amid the inferno, which has spread across more than 5,000 acres in the foothills of Jerusalem over the past two days.—
Tom O'Connor,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 May 2025
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With too little carbon dioxide, Earth can become a frozen wasteland, and with too much, a sweltering inferno.—
The Editors,
JSTOR Daily,
16 Apr. 2025
Noun
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The reader is brought into the heart of Israel’s nightmare.—
Daniel Foster,
National Review,
15 May 2025
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This harrowing, 35mm-shot story of pubescent boys tormenting each other at a water polo summer camp doubles as a coming-of-age drama and an adolescent, acne-scarred body-horror nightmare.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
15 May 2025
Noun
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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
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But the film comes into its own at almost exactly an hour, as The Man begins the ritual and The Surrender threatens to go full occult gonzo, complete with a charmed circle and a bleak netherworld resembling Lucio Fulci’s 1981 splatter epic The Beyond.—
Damon Wise,
Deadline,
9 Mar. 2025
Noun
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In video of the attack released by police at the time, she can be heard screaming in agony.—
Roni Jacobson,
New York Daily News,
9 May 2025
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Dropping dramatically to the floor, Busquets writhed in agony and Motta was duly sent off.—
Conor O'Neill,
New York Times,
29 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Host Ari Daniel speaks with Smithsonian contributing writer Tony Perrottet, who wrote recently about Rome’s underworld—the city lurking beneath the city.—
Ari Daniel,
Smithsonian Magazine,
15 May 2025
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Jason—her partner—comes off as more laid-back but equally entrenched in the criminal underworld.—
Tahar Rajab,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 May 2025
Noun
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The following list contains killer robots, talking cats, deadly curses and period crime dramas.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
16 May 2025
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The 18-inch model leaves a cavernous space beneath the bed that can accommodate several tote-style storage containers—which could be a blessing or a curse depending on the usual state of your bedroom floor.—
Louryn Strampe,
Wired News,
15 May 2025
Noun
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If this is the slow kind of hell, I’m used to it— My hands are folded the wrong way, the cat sits on the bed Like a limpet, the sun drops out of the sky, inexorable As a chandelier earring.—
Jane Yeh,
The New York Review of Books,
8 May 2025
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The first is Lorraine Bracco’s Roberta, his mother’s best friend, a passionate Sicilian now raising hell in a nursing home.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
8 May 2025
Noun
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Those caught in tunnels faced a darker, more claustrophobic ordeal.—
Marianne Lehnis,
Forbes.com,
16 May 2025
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For them, switching production to other countries such as India is an impossible ordeal.—
Shuli Ren,
Twin Cities,
16 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Purgatory.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/purgatory. Accessed 24 May. 2025.
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