purgatory

Meanings

1. 1noununcountablereligion

   In Catholic teaching, a state after death where souls are made clean before entering heaven.

   Grammar: Usually no article and singular; refers to one doctrine rather than many places.

   Patterns

   • believe in purgatory
   • souls in purgatory
   • pray for purgatory

   In Catholic teaching, purgatory prepares souls for heaven.

   Some families pray for loved ones in purgatory.

2. 2nouncountable or uncountablefigurative

   A long, uncomfortable period of waiting, suffering, or uncertainty, used loosely.

   Grammar: Can be a purgatory when naming one period: the airport lounge was purgatory.

   Patterns

   • a purgatory of waiting
   • purgatory for someone
   • endure purgatory

   The delayed flight turned the terminal into purgatory.

   For a shy student, the first week at camp felt like purgatory.

Common combinations

souls in purgatory

The chapel offered prayers for souls in purgatory.

a purgatory of delay

The visa process became a purgatory of delay.

escape purgatory

No one could escape purgatory without patience.

pray for the dead in purgatory

They light candles and pray for the dead in purgatory.

Synonyms and how they differ

limbo

Limbo suggests being in an unresolved state, often forgotten; purgatory implies suffering with a purpose or end.

ordeal

Ordeal is a severe test or painful experience; purgatory adds a sense of waiting before release.

Opposites

Word family

purge verb

to remove impurities or unwanted people

purgative adjective

cleansing or causing emptying of the bowels

purification noun

the act of making clean or pure

Commonly confused: purgatory or purgative?

Practice

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