pure

B1 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈpjʊə(ɹ)/ UK /pjʊə/ See IPA manual

Freq #2152

Meanings

1

adj
Not mixed with anything else; clean and free of other substances.

This ring is made of pure gold.
2

adj
Clean and fresh, with no dirt or pollution.

We breathed the pure mountain air.
3

adj
Complete; nothing but.

Meeting her there was pure luck.
4

adj
Morally good; free of bad or sinful behaviour.

She had a pure and gentle heart.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · not mixed with anything... unmixed unalloyed natural

2 adj · clean and fresh, with no... pristine clear

3 adj · complete; nothing but. sheer simple

4 adj · morally good; free of bad... innocent chaste blameless

More cherry clean flawless halal ideal immaculate kosher mere perfect

Opposites

adulterated contaminated defileddenaturedfilthy flawedharamimpure pollutedsulliedtaintedtreyf

Word family

Forms purerpurest

Derived forms fullbloodpure-bredpure-heartedpure-impurepure-playpurebloodpurebloodedpurebredpurebreedpurenesspureplaypurey

Related forms non-mixturepurification purifypurismpurist puritan puritanism purity

Appears in

Phrases (4)

See all

pure luck
success or outcome determined entirely by chance, with no skill or intention involved

Adjective + noun
pure pleasure
complete, unmixed pleasure with no drawback

Adjective + noun
pure folly
behavior that is completely foolish and lacks good judgment

Adjective + noun
pure fragrance
a clear pleasant scent without an unpleasant or competing smell

Adjective + noun

Etymology

From Middle English pure, pur, from Old French pur, from Latin pūrus (“clean, free from dirt or filth, unmixed, plain”), from Proto-Indo-European *pewH- (“to cleanse, purify”). Displaced native Middle English lutter (“pure, clear, sincere”) (from Old English hlūtor, hluttor), Middle English skere (“pure, sheer, clear”) (from Old English scǣre and Old Norse skǣr), Middle English schir (“clear, pure”) (from Old English scīr), Middle English smete, smeate (“pure, refined”) (from Old English smǣte; compare Old English mǣre (“pure”)).

*pewH- Proto-Indo-European pure Middle English pur Old French pūrus Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities

External links

# pure

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈpjʊə(ɹ)/
**IPA (UK):** /pjʊə/
**Frequency rank:** 2152

## Meanings
1. Not mixed with anything else; clean and free of other substances.
2. Clean and fresh, with no dirt or pollution.
3. Complete; nothing but.
4. Morally good; free of bad or sinful behaviour.

## Examples
- This ring is made of pure gold.
- We breathed the pure mountain air.
- Meeting her there was pure luck.
- She had a pure and gentle heart.

## Synonyms
- chaste
- cherry
- clean
- flawless
- halal
- ideal
- immaculate
- kosher
- mere
- natural
- perfect
- pristine

## Antonyms
- adulterated
- contaminated
- defiled
- denatured
- filthy
- flawed
- haram
- impure
- polluted
- sullied
- tainted
- treyf

## Derived Forms
- fullblood
- pure-bred
- pure-hearted
- pure-impure
- pure-play
- pureblood
- pureblooded
- purebred
- purebreed
- pureness
- pureplay
- purey

## Related Forms
- non-mixture
- purification
- purify
- purism
- purist
- puritan
- puritanism
- purity

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *pewH-
- Root: pure
- Root: pur
- Root: pūrus

## Etymology
From Middle English pure, pur, from Old French pur, from Latin pūrus (“clean, free from dirt or filth, unmixed, plain”), from Proto-Indo-European *pewH- (“to cleanse, purify”). Displaced native Middle English lutter (“pure, clear, sincere”) (from Old English hlūtor, hluttor), Middle English skere (“pure, sheer, clear”) (from Old English scǣre and Old Norse skǣr), Middle English schir (“clear, pure”) (from Old English scīr), Middle English smete, smeate (“pure, refined”) (from Old English smǣte; compare Old English mǣre (“pure”)).

## AI Etymology
Pure comes from Middle English pure, pur, from Old French pur, from Latin pūrus (“clean, free from dirt or filth, unmixed, plain”), from Proto-Indo-European *pewH- (“to cleanse, purify”). Displaced native Middle English lutter (“pure, clear, sincere”) (from Old English hlūtor, hluttor), Middle English skere (“pure, sheer, clear”) (from Old English scǣre and Old Norse skǣr), Middle English schir (“clear, pure”) (from Old English scīr), Middle English smete, smeate (“pure, refined”) (from Old English smǣte; compare Old English mǣre (“pure”)). In present-day English it covers not mixed with anything else; clean and free of other substances, clean and fresh, with no dirt or pollution, and complete; nothing but. The wider family includes derived forms such as fullblood, pure-bred, pure-hearted, pure-impure, pure-play and related forms such as non-mixture, purification, purify, purism.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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