purifying

Adjective
US[pyoor-uh-fahy-ing]/ˈpjʊrəˌfaɪɪŋ/4 syllables
Synonyms: purgatorialpurgingcleansing

Open English WordNet

Adjective (3)

  1. serving to purge or rid of sin“purgatorial rites”Synonyms: purgatorialpurgingRelating to purge
  2. freeing from noxious matter“filtration is a purifying agent”Opposite adulterantSimilar ablutionary, detergent, antiseptic
  3. acting like an antisepticSynonyms: cleansingOpposite infectedSimilar antiseptic
Word of the day · Nov 8About this word
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Webster's Dictionary (1913)

“purifying” is listed under Purify.

Pu′ri·fy (pū′rĭ-fī), transitive verb [past tense & past participle Purified (pū′rĭ-fīd); present participle & verbal noun Purifying (pū′rĭ-fī′ĭng).]

Origin: F. purifier, L. purificare; purus pure + -ficare (in comp.) to make. See Pure, and -fy.

1. To make pure or clear from material defilement, admixture, or imperfection; to free from extraneous or noxious matter; as, to purify liquors or metals; to purify the blood; to purify the air.

2. Hence, in figurative uses: (a) To free from guilt or moral defilement; as, to purify the heart.

And fit them so Purified to receive him pure.— John Milton

(b) To free from ceremonial or legal defilement.

And Moses took the blood, and put it upon the horns of the altar,... and purified the altar.— Lev. viii. 15.
Purify both yourselves and your captives.— Num. xxxi. 19.

(c) To free from improprieties or barbarisms; as, to purify a language. Thomas Sprat

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54

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