From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishpurgatorypur‧ga‧tory /ˈpɜːɡətəri $ ˈpɜːrɡətɔːri/ noun 1 SUFFER[uncountable] something that makes you suffer – used humorously Sewing is relaxation for some, purgatory for others.2 → Purgatory —purgatorial /ˌpɜːɡəˈtɔːriəl◂ $ ˌpɜːr-/ adjective
Examples from the Corpus
purgatory• The island was turned into a purgatory for slaves before they were sold.• McCree suffered in an employment purgatory.• She landed on the altar and spoke of her journey through heaven, hell, purgatory, and back.• On some, the soul in purgatory peeps from a bowl of flame.• Christina believed she was released from the afterlife to pray for the souls in purgatory.• In stark contrast to such kindness and understanding was my purgatory at work.• The idea of being marooned at Balmoral for months on end is her vision of purgatory.• This was purgatory, worse than anything she'd faced in her life.PurgatoryPurgatoryRRCin Roman Catholic belief, a place where the souls of dead people suffer until they are pure enough to enter heaven → purgatoryOrigin purgatory (1100-1200) Anglo-French purgatorie, from Latin purgatus, past participle of purgare; → PURGE1 