- chiefly a state or place in which the souls of those who have died in a state of grace are believed to undergo a limited amount of suffering to expiate their venial sins and become purified of the remaining effects of mortal sin
- a place or condition of suffering or torment, esp one that is temporary
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
pur•ga•to•ry /ˈpɜrgəˌtɔri/USA pronunciation
n., pl. -ries.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- Religion[uncountable] (esp. in Roman Catholic belief ) a place or state following death in which souls not condemned to hell are purified of lesser sins or undergo the punishment still remaining for forgiven mortal sins and are thereby made ready for heaven.
- a state or place of temporary suffering: [countable]The stuffy subway car was a purgatory to be endured.[uncountable]The experience was pure purgatory.
pur•ga•to•ry
(pûr′gə tôr′ē, -tōr′ē),USA pronunciation n., pl. -ries, adj.
n.
adj.
n.
- Religion(in the belief of Roman Catholics and others) a condition or place in which the souls of those dying penitent are purified from venial sins, or undergo the temporal punishment that, after the guilt of mortal sin has been remitted, still remains to be endured by the sinner.
- any condition or place of temporary punishment, suffering, expiation, or the like.
adj.
- serving to cleanse, purify, or expiate.
- Late Latin pūrgātōrius
- Medieval Latin pūrgātōrium, noun, nominal use of neuter of Late Latin pūrgātōrius purging, equivalent. to pūrgā(re) to purge + -tōrius -tory1; (adjective, adjectival) Middle English purgatorie
- Anglo-French)
- (noun, nominal) Middle English purgatorie (1175–1225
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
purgatory /ˈpɜːɡətərɪ; -trɪ/ n
'purgatory' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):