pure

[pyoor]

adjective

purer, purest 

1. free from anything of a different, inferior, or contaminating kind; free from extraneous matter.

   pure gold;

   pure water.

   Synonyms: immaculate, unstained, unalloyed, unadulterated, unmixed

2. unmodified by an admixture; simple or homogeneous.

3. of unmixed descent or ancestry.

   a pure breed of dog.

4. free from foreign or inappropriate elements.

   pure Attic Greek.

5. clear; free from blemishes.

   pure skin.

6. (of literary style) straightforward; unaffected.

7. abstract or theoretical (applied ).

   pure science.

8. without any discordant quality; clear and true.

   pure tones in music.

9. absolute; utter; sheer.

   to sing for pure joy.

10. being that and nothing else; mere.

    a pure accident.

11. clean, spotless, or unsullied.

    pure hands.

12. untainted with evil; innocent.

    pure in heart.

    Synonyms: virtuous, modest

13. physically chaste; virgin.

14. ceremonially or ritually clean.

15. free of or without guilt; guiltless.

16. independent of sense or experience.

    pure knowledge.

17. Biology, Genetics.

    1. homozygous.

    2. containing only one characteristic for a trait.

18. Phonetics.,  monophthongal.

pure

/ pjʊə /

adjective

1. not mixed with any extraneous or dissimilar materials, elements, etc

   pure nitrogen

2. free from tainting or polluting matter; clean; wholesome

   pure water

3. free from moral taint or defilement

   pure love

4. (prenominal) (intensifier)

   pure stupidity

   a pure coincidence

5. (of a subject, etc) studied in its theoretical aspects rather than for its practical applications Compare applied

   pure mathematics

   pure science

6. (of a vowel) pronounced with more or less unvarying quality without any glide; monophthongal

7. (of a consonant) not accompanied by another consonant

8. of supposedly unmixed racial descent

9. genetics biology breeding true for one or more characteristics; homozygous

10. music

    1. (of a sound) composed of a single frequency without overtones

    2. (of intervals in the system of just intonation) mathematically accurate in respect to the ratio of one frequency to another

Other Word Forms

• pureness noun
• hyperpure adjective
• hyperpurely adverb
• hyperpureness noun
• superpure adjective
• unpure adjective
• unpurely adverb
• unpureness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of pure¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English pur, from Old French, from Latin pūrus “clean, unmixed, plain, pure”

Word History and Origins

Origin of pure¹

C13: from Old French pur, from Latin pūrus unstained

Synonym Study

See clean.

Example Sentences

When Winslet allows the dam surrounding Mare’s despair to crack a little, frosting the blank spaces between lines of dialogue with pure aching emotion, tearing your eyes away is impossible.

From Salon

While the pool area with its hot tub, sauna and thoughtful landscaping is pure desert luxury, the rest of the hotel consists of 65 rectangular-shaped, free-standing rooms laid out in neat rows.

From Los Angeles Times

It is easy to see why United opted to sign Lammens on pure data alone.

From BBC

"This is a pure example of a terrorism attack," he tells me.

From BBC

England forward Gordon has apologised for his dismissal, saying his "intentions were pure".

From BBC

Related Words

• authentic 
• bright 
• classic 
• natural 
• neat 
• perfect 
• plain 
• real 
• simple 
• transparent 
• true 
• unadulterated