pure

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adjective

/pjʊr/

adjective	pure
comparative	purer
superlative	purest

1
a pure substance or material has nothing mixed with it that might spoil its quality or effect
pure gold/alcohol
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of pure
2
[only before noun] used for emphasizing the amount or degree of something
a scream of pure terror
pure chance/coincidence/luck:
Perhaps it was pure chance that the other woman happened to be there.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of pure
3
a pure sound, color, light, etc. is very clear and beautiful
The flowers were a pure white.
the pure sound of children laughing
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of pure
4
science a pure subject of study, especially in science, deals only with theory and not with the way the theory is used
pure mathematics
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of pure
1. a.
  a pure form of art does not have any practical purpose, such as selling something
  You could separate it from its political message and just look at it as pure poetry.
  Thesaurus entry for this meaning of pure
5
a pure person or pure behavior is free from wrong, especially in sexual matters
He cannot claim to have led an absolutely pure life.
It is hard to be humble, and nobody is pure.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of pure

phrases

pure and simple
used for saying that there is no additional explanation for something
The murder was vengeance, pure and simple.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of pure
pure as the driven snow
completely pure, often used for suggesting the opposite
I hardly think she was as pure as the driven snow.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of pure

derived word

pureness

noun [uncountable]

This is the American English definition of pure. View British English definition of pure.

Change your default dictionary and thesaurus to British English.

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