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Definition
get rid of things thought undesirableThe exact meaning of purge can depend upon its context. For example:
- "purge the government of our enemies" — get rid of people for political reasons
- "purge my closet of everything I haven't worn in a year" — get rid of undesired things
- "To purge yourself of crippling sorrow, you'll need to express it." — get rid of unwanted feelings
- "I'm doing a 24-hour purge and then starting a new diet." — emptying the intestinal tract
- She thinks fasting once a month helps purge her body of impurities.
purge = rid
- Unlike most of his colleagues, he survived the purge of intellectuals during the Chinese Cultural Revolution.
- The extremists in the party want to purge the leadership of moderates.
- Paul urged the church to purge sin and pursue sincerity and truth.
- I must purge my soul of today's sins.Dan Brown -- The Da Vinci Code
- He wanted to beat something, to cry, to scream, but all he could do was listen to Angel as she threw up the way she used to, the only way she knew to purge the tension of Jordan's presence in the house.Sharon M. Draper -- Forged by Fire
- With the obsessive attention to detail that characterized his brand of dogged genius, Rosellini purged his life of all but the most primitive tools, which he fashioned from native materials with his own hands.Jon Krakauer -- Into the Wild
- There have already been purges among them, there will be more.Margaret Atwood -- The Handmaid's Tale
- The afternoon waned from the purging good of three o'clock to the golden beauty of four.F. Scott Fitzgerald -- This Side of Paradise
- And poison was not the only thing it purged.Rick Riordan -- The Sea of Monsters
- If I do grow great, I'll grow less; for I'll purge, and leave sack, and live cleanly as a nobleman should do.William Shakespeare -- Henry IV, Part 1
- You must purge it from your mind or else it will corrupt your better nature.Christopher Paolini -- Brisingr
- So I lay on all this shore Of Corinth a high feast for evermore And rite, to purge them yearly of the stain Of this poor blood.Euripides -- Medea
- And by conversion and contrition should he not be purged of this?Theodore Dreiser -- An American Tragedy
- He was puzzled that Mau should suddenly be purged from suspicion and self-seeking.E.M. Forster -- A Passage to India
- Through paths unknown Thy soul hath flown, To seek the realms of woe, Where fiery pain Shall purge the stain Of actions done below.Sir Walter Scott -- Ivanhoe
- When he began to speak, his voice was purged of emotion.Ian McEwan -- Atonement
- Express your feelings, purge your guilt, seek and ye shall find?Nicholas Sparks -- True Believer
- If you did, now is the time to purge your soul.Truman Capote -- In Cold Blood
- Revenge cannot possibly purge him of hate, but he won't listen to me, won't listen to anyone.Frank Beddor -- The Looking Glass Wars
purge = elimination (removal)
purge = rid
purge = get rid of
purge = get rid of
purge = get rid of (things thought undesirable)
purged = eliminated (got rid of)