Link Centre Dictionary

pure

UK/pjʊə/ US/pjʊɹ/ common slang

adjective

1.

free of extraneous elements of any kind

  • “pure air and water”
  • “pure gold”
  • “pure primary colors”
  • “the violin”
  • “;”
  • “;”
Antonyms
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2.

without qualification; used informally as (often pejorative) intensifiers

  • “an arrant fool”
  • “a complete coward”
  • “a consummate fool”
  • “a double-dyed villain”
  • “gross negligence”
  • “a perfect idiot”
  • “pure folly”
  • “what a sodding mess”
  • “stark staring mad”
  • “a thoroughgoing villain”
  • “utter nonsense”
  • “the unadulterated truth”
Synonyms
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3.

concerned with theory and data rather than practice; opposed to applied

  • “pure science”
Similar
4.

(of color) being chromatically pure; not diluted with white or gray or black

Synonyms
Antonyms
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5.

free from discordant qualities

Similar
6.

used of persons or behaviors; having no faults; sinless

  • “I felt pure and sweet as a new baby” Sylvia Plath
  • “pure as the driven snow”
Antonyms
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7.

in a state of sexual virginity

  • “pure and vestal modesty”
  • “a spinster or virgin lady”
  • “men have decreed that their women must be pure and virginal”
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8.

not mixed

  • “pure oxygen”
Synonyms
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Origin

From Middle English pure, pur, from Old French pur, from Latin pūrus (“clean, free from dirt or filth, unmixed, plain”), from Proto-Indo-European *pewH- (“to cleanse, purify”). Displaced native Middle English lutter (“pure, clear, sincere”) (from Old English hlūtor, hluttor), Middle English skere (“pure, sheer, clear”) (from Old English scǣre and Old Norse skǣr), Middle English schir (“clear, pure”) (from Old English scīr), Middle English smete, smeate (“pure, refined”) (from Old English smǣte; compare Old English mǣre (“pure”)).

Phrases

  • as pure as the driven snow
  • pure air
  • pure and simple
  • pure as driven snow
  • pure as the driven snow
  • pure blue
  • pure cancer
  • pure collector

Related words

Word family

See also

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.