2 uses
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Definition
get rid of things thought undesirable
The 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
- But in our circumstance and course of thought, 'tis heavy with him: and am I, then, reveng'd, To take him in the purging of his soul, When he is fit and season'd for his passage?3.3 — Act 3 Scene 3 — A room in the Castle (87% in)
- Slanders, sir: for the satirical slave says here that old men have grey beards; that their faces are wrinkled; their eyes purging thick amber and plum-tree gum; and that they have a plentiful lack of wit, together with most weak hams: all which, sir, though I most powerfully and potently believe, yet I hold it not honesty to have it thus set down; for you yourself, sir, should be old as I am, if, like a crab, you could go backward.2.2 — Act 2 Scene 2 — A room in the Castle (33% in)
There are no more uses of "purge" in Hamlet, Prince of Denmark.
Typical Usage
(best examples)