Meaning & use
purgatory
In Catholic belief, a state after death in which souls are purified before entering heaven.
See it in a sentence
The priest explained purgatory as a place of cleansing rather than eternal punishment.
Waiting for the exam results felt like purgatory, an anxious limbo between hope and dread.
A note on using this word
Outside religious contexts, purgatory is often used loosely for any prolonged, uncomfortable state of waiting or suffering.
Words with a similar meaning
limbo
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
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