Word family noun purification purist purity ≠ impurity purifier adjective pure ≠ impure verb purify adverb purely
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishpurepure /pjʊə $ pjʊr/ ●●● S3 W3 adjective 1 not mixed [usually before noun]PURE a pure substance or material is not mixed with anything OPP impurepure silk/cotton/wool etc pure wool blankets rings made of pure gold Our beef patties are 100% pure.2 COMPLETELYcomplete [only before noun] complete and total SYN sheer a work of pure genius a smile of pure joy My mother’s life was pure hell.pure chance/luck/coincidence etc By pure chance, I met Sir Malcolm that morning. The chairman dismissed the report as pure speculation.3 cleanCLEAN clean and not containing anything harmful OPP impure We had trouble finding a pure water supply. Up here the air was purer.► see thesaurus at clean4 → pure and simple5 morally goodHONEST literary without any sexual experience or evil thoughts OPP impure a pure young girl They’re too pure and innocent to know what’s really going on.6 colour or soundCC very clear and beautiful a cloudless sky of the purest blue Her voice, clear and pure, soared up to the roof. 7 typical [only before noun] typical of a particular style His music is pure New York.8 breed/race bred from only one group or race My husband is pure Japanese and traces his family back 800 years. The Highland is the oldest and purest breed of cattle in Britain.9 art or study [usually before noun]A done according to an accepted standard or pattern Gothic architecture in its purest form10 → pure science/maths etc11 → be as pure as the driven snow → purelyCOLLOCATIONS – Meaning 2: complete and totalnounspure chance/luckHe had discovered the truth by pure chance.pure coincidenceIt was pure coincidence that I arrived on the same plane.pure joy/pleasure/delightLucinda flashed him a smile of pure joy.pure hatredShe remembered the look of pure hatred in his eyes.pure speculation (=a guess that is not based on any facts)Most of what you hear is pure speculation.pure fantasy/fiction (=something that is not true at all)He dismissed the allegations as ‘pure fantasy’.pure geniusThat excuse you came up with was a flash of pure genius.pure hellHe has described this period as ‘pure hell’. Examples from the Corpus
pure• The cocaine was 95% pure.• When it first comes out of the ground, the oil is not very pure.• Crude cocaine is only about 25 percent pure.• The bottle contained 4 litres of pure alcohol.• Our burgers are made of 100% pure beef.• Clothes made of pure cotton are much cooler than those made of mixed fibers.• pure drinking water• And research on pure electrics powered by exotic new battery systems is promising.• The ideal time to pursue the sport which many considered to be the purest form of hunting.• Under the 1990 reforms, districts will be financed on a pure formula basis too.• And the closing bloodbath is pure Grand Guignol.• The pure, hot contempt I now felt for him warmed me.• It was by pure luck that we found the place.• It felt good to get away from the city and breathe in some pure mountain air.• In terms of pure natural ability, Rick's the best athlete on the team.• At one extreme are pure, natural ecosystems like an alpine meadow or a mangrove swamp.• I'm sure he had the purest of motives.• Pure olive oil is usually light gold in color.• pure orange juice• a pure tenor voice• These flowers also come in pure white.• The water in the lake is so pure you can drink it.pure silk/cotton/wool etc• My first impression of the machine was that it was pure silk.• Prices start at $ 20 for acetate shades and go up to several hundred dollars for pure silk.• Shapes are kept simple - shirts and T-shirts - and fabrics are pure cotton or silk.• Hair is a marvellous natural fibre - you could almost compare it to pure silk thread.• Her black hair was immaculate, and the pure silk violet dress fitted to perfection.• Her napkin was of pure silk with a neatly monogrammed corner.• A Casual, short sleeved shirt in pure silk with the fashionable sand-washed finish that feels so luxurious to the touch.pure chance/luck/coincidence etc• Of the pure luck, or destiny, involved.• Unless she was much mistaken in that young man, pure chance played very little part in his proceedings.• It was pure chance that had brought Jean-Claude to the attic window that same afternoon.• It was pure chance that made me notice the writing on the top file, as I pushed open the window.• It was pure chance that Philip Yale Drew came into the frame.• It is pure coincidence that the date of his birthday was 1st April.• Perhaps it was by pure chance that the other woman had been there, and Matthew was entirely innocent.• The connection was made, forged beyond the power of pure chance to explain.pure water• Each point on the demand curve shows what the individual would pay for the last unit of purer water.• Flush your plant and rock periodically with pure water.• He gobbled its contents like a thirsty man would the purest water.• They lived on certain kinds of food and drank pure water.• In wooded recesses were numberless springs of pure water and numerous small lakes.• He walked into the brightly-lit kitchen, opened the fridge, took out a bottle of pure water and opened it.• George Burt provided Swanage with a pure water supply, gas, drainage and a railway.• D 2 D 2 shows the marginal benefit of purer water to the second individual.purest form• Indeed, in the purest form, energy need not weigh anything at all!• Teletext and Videotext are two examples of this technology in its purest form, ie no paper.• The ideal time to pursue the sport which many considered to be the purest form of hunting.• But the meteorites were a potential embarrassment to the purest forms of uniformitarianism.• Music-sharing programs have reduced music to its purest form, one that separates the actual music from the packaging.• This is alienation in its purest form, so why does this book still make me laugh?• In its purest form, suitable for manufacturing bombs, it can also be extremely valuable.• In its purest form, the doctrine advocated a return to subsistence economy but on a less individualistic and more communal basis.Origin pure (1200-1300) Old French pur, from Latin purus 