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
Because the road into Hunt was unpassable, the Childresses were forced into a monstrous kind of purgatory among other terrified parents at Ingram Elementary School.
—
Karen Valby,
Vanity Fair,
16 June 2026
This is for the group of players, coaches and executives who dragged New York City from the pits of basketball purgatory and ushered in a golden era of hoops.
—
Kristian Winfield,
New York Daily News,
14 June 2026
Still others, like Joey Bragg, who spent four teenage years starring opposite Dove Cameron on Disney’s Liv and Maddie, end up stuck in fame’s purgatory, underemployed in Hollywood but still recognizable enough to draw attention while, say, applying for a gig as a door-to-door solar salesman.
—
Borys Kit,
HollywoodReporter,
10 June 2026
That chance for impact had slipped away in Cleveland as the Browns returned to quarterback purgatory.
—
Nate Atkins,
New York Times,
3 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for purgatory
Karen Valby,
Vanity Fair,
16 June 2026
This is for the group of players, coaches and executives who dragged New York City from the pits of basketball purgatory and ushered in a golden era of hoops.
—
Kristian Winfield,
New York Daily News,
14 June 2026
Still others, like Joey Bragg, who spent four teenage years starring opposite Dove Cameron on Disney’s Liv and Maddie, end up stuck in fame’s purgatory, underemployed in Hollywood but still recognizable enough to draw attention while, say, applying for a gig as a door-to-door solar salesman.
—
Borys Kit,
HollywoodReporter,
10 June 2026
That chance for impact had slipped away in Cleveland as the Browns returned to quarterback purgatory.
—
Nate Atkins,
New York Times,
3 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for purgatory
Recent Examples of Synonyms for purgatory
Noun
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But Grand Junction’s cloudless blue sky gave no hint of the inferno that continued to ravage the Colorado-Utah border less than an hour away.
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The story detailed the first critical hours of the Palisades fire, when thousands of residents had to decide whether and how to flee the inferno.
Noun
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Throw in an undercover mission to catch a mall theft ring and Riley’s got herself a true nightmare before Christmas.
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What initially seems like the perfect place for a rescue mission quickly turns into a nightmare.
Noun
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Alistair Taylor’s reward for accompanying him into this teenage netherworld was to be given lunch at his current favorite city-center restaurant, the Peacock.
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The rules of this netherworld announce themselves, early on, via a nondescript wall sign.
Noun
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Adding to Rezaeian’s agony, right before the final whistle another potential clincher, a header from Khalilzadeh, hit the crossbar.
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The agony of Sudan runs deep; its history is crisscrossed with blood.
Noun
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In the dark underworld of New Orleans, the Winters family builds an empire around a powerful new drug—crafted from the ashes of the dead—that grants users vivid, haunting visions of the past.
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Del Toro remains one of Hollywood’s most imaginative visual entertainers, and the prospect of visiting his long-dormant underworld later in 2026 promises not just fresh nostalgia but maybe even total immersion.
Noun
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Morgan and her Judgment Day cronies tried to bribe Danhausen to put curses on their opponents.
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The dust-ups might have driven the Honeywells away from their island paradise, more casualties of the lottery curse.
Noun
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Flying straight from the merry Riverlands into the somber halls of Dragonstone is one hell of a comedown, but Daemon never struggles to access his dark side.
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Avery met his wife Sally Michael–a hell of an artist in her own right–in Cape Ann and the couple honeymooned there in 1926 before moving to New York and meeting Gottlieb and Rothko.
Noun
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Early first documented the ordeal, which occurred on the swinging SkyScreamer ride, in a now-viral video on TikTok that has received over 11 million views.
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Rodney McDonald, who was traveling with his wife and two sons, told ABC News the ordeal began when the aircraft unexpectedly lurched.
Cite this Entry
“Purgatory.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/purgatory. Accessed 1 Jul. 2026.
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