Meaning & use
purging
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“purging” is a form of “purge”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
noununcountable
The act of removing unwanted people or things from a group or place, often in a sudden and forceful way.
Grammar: Usually uncountable: the purging of officials, not a purging.
Patterns
- the purging of something
- purging of someone from something
The new director ordered the purging of old files from the archive.
Historians describe the purging of rivals from the party in the 1930s.
The purging of outdated records saved a great deal of storage space.
verbtransitive
Removing something unwanted from a place or group, or clearing out the body or a system.
Grammar: Takes an object: purging the list, purging the system.
Patterns
- purge something of something
- purge something from something
The company is purging its mailing list of inactive addresses.
They spent the weekend purging the garage of old junk.
The technician is purging air from the heating pipes.
noununcountablemedical
Deliberately making yourself vomit or using laxatives to get rid of food, as part of an eating disorder.
Grammar: Used without an article, often alongside binge eating.
Patterns
- binge eating and purging
Doctors explained that purging can seriously harm the heart and teeth.
Therapy helped her stop the cycle of bingeing and purging.
Families should seek medical help if they notice signs of purging.
Word forms
| base form | purge |
|---|---|
| third person singular | purges |
| past tense | purged |
| past participle | purged |
Common combinations
- purging of records
- The purging of old records is done every year.
- purging the system
- Purging the system of viruses took hours.
- political purging
- Political purging left the army without many of its experienced officers.
- bingeing and purging
- Bingeing and purging are symptoms that need medical care.
- purging impurities
- The filter is purging impurities from the water.
Synonyms and how they differ
- clearing out
- Clearing out is the casual, everyday way to say it, while purging stresses a thorough or forceful removal.
- cleansing
- Cleansing suggests making something pure and sounds gentler than purging.
- eliminating
- Eliminating is a neutral word for getting rid of something, whereas purging often implies removing people or items from a larger group.
- deleting
- Deleting is mainly for computer data and is milder than purging, which implies removing everything unwanted at once.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: purging or purging vs. pursuing?
purging vs purging vs. pursuing
Purging means removing unwanted things, while pursuing means chasing or working toward something.
Practice
The administrator spent the afternoon ___ the old accounts from the database.
Choose one answer.
Purging means removing unwanted items. Preserving is the opposite, pursuing means chasing, and pouring refers to liquids.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “purging”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.