purge

/pərdʒ/

/pədʒ/

Other forms: purged; purging; purges

To purge is to get rid of something or someone, and often it’s done suddenly. Purge rhymes with urge, and when you have a really strong urge to throw stuff away or clean something out, you have an urge to purge.

From the Latin purgare, meaning "purify," purge is used as a verb for removing impure things, whether they're guilty feelings in a person or rotten vegetables in a refrigerator. As a noun, the act of tossing out the too-small clothes in your closet before getting new ones might be called a purge. It can be a very bad act, too, as when individuals have an unhealthy urge to purge or empty their stomachs after eating or when a military group decides to purge a certain ethnic group from a country.

Definitions of purge

1. verb

   rid of impurities
   “purge the water”

   “purge your mind”

   type of:

   distill, make pure, purify, sublimate

   remove impurities from, increase the concentration of, and separate through the process of distillation
2. verb

   make pure or free from sin or guilt
   synonyms: purify, sanctify

   types:

   spiritualise, spiritualize

   purify from the corrupting influences of the world

   lustrate

   purify by means of a ritual; also used in post-Communist countries to refer to the political cleansing of former officials

   type of:

   alter, change, modify

   cause to change; make different; cause a transformation
3. verb

   rinse, clean, or empty with a liquid
   “purge the old gas tank”

   synonyms: flush, scour

   type of:

   rinse, rinse off

   wash off soap or remaining dirt
4. verb

   clear of a charge
   type of:

   acquit, assoil, clear, discharge, exculpate, exonerate

   pronounce not guilty of criminal charges
5. noun

   the act of clearing yourself (or another) from some stigma or charge
   synonyms: purgation, purging

   types:

   purification

   the act of purging of sin or guilt; moral or spiritual cleansing

   type of:

   clearing

   the act of freeing from suspicion
6. noun

   an act of removing by cleansing; ridding of sediment or other undesired elements
   synonyms: purging

   types:

   abreaction, catharsis, katharsis

   (psychoanalysis) purging of emotional tensions

   catharsis, katharsis, purgation

   purging the body by the use of a cathartic to stimulate evacuation of the bowels

   type of:

   cleaning, cleansing, cleanup

   the act of making something clean
7. verb

   oust politically
   “Deng Xiao Ping was purged several times throughout his lifetime”

   antonyms:

   rehabilitate

   reinstall politically

   type of:

   oppress, persecute

   cause to suffer
8. noun

   an abrupt or sudden removal of a person or group from an organization or place
   “he died in a purge by Stalin”

   type of:

   removal

   dismissal from office
9. verb

   eject the contents of the stomach through the mouth
   “He purged continuously”

   synonyms: barf, be sick, chuck, disgorge, regurgitate, throw up, vomit, vomit up

   type of:

   egest, eliminate, excrete, pass

   eliminate from the body
10. verb

    excrete or evacuate (someone's bowels or body)
    “The doctor decided that the patient must be purged”

    type of:

    care for, treat

    provide treatment for