purge

[purj] /pɜrdʒ/
verb (used with object), purged, purging.
1.
to rid of whatever is impure or undesirable; cleanse; purify.
2.
to rid, clear, or free (usually followed by of or from):
to purge a political party of disloyal members.
3.
to clear of imputed guilt or ritual uncleanliness.
4.
to clear away or wipe out legally (an offense, accusation, etc.) by atonement or other suitable action.
5.
to remove by cleansing or purifying (often followed by away, off, or out).
6.
to clear or empty (the bowels) by causing evacuation.
7.
to cause evacuation of the bowels of (a person).
8.
to put to death or otherwise eliminate (undesirable or unwanted members) from a political organization, government, nation, etc.
9.
Metallurgy.
  1. to drive off (undesirable gases) from a furnace or stove.
  2. to free (a furnace or stove) of undesirable gases.
verb (used without object), purged, purging.
10.
to become cleansed or purified.
11.
to undergo or cause purging of the bowels.
noun
12.
the act or process of purging.
13.
the removal or elimination of members of a political organization, government, nation, etc., who are considered disloyal or otherwise undesirable.
14.
something that purges, as a purgative medicine or dose.
Origin
1250-1300; (v.) Middle English purgen < Old French purg(i)er < Latin pūrgāre to cleanse; (noun) Middle English < Old French, derivative of the v.
Related forms
purgeable, adjective
purger, noun
unpurgeable, adjective
unpurged, adjective
Synonyms
8. oust, liquidate, extirpate.
Examples from the web for purge
  • The hypocrisy of last year's purge of long-term faculty is now obvious, especially to students.
  • Once you have clamped it shut, nothing will get inside except for air, via a small purge valve that equalizes pressure.
  • In a vast purge, he exiled or fired many of them, leaving wounds that remain tender to this day.
  • He has announced a purge of the ranks of the police.
  • Part of the trouble is that these forums have to purge a lot of bad blood.
  • Most are still dressed for bed, in cotton shawls and sarongs-for custom dictates that they purge before washing.
  • But from a sociological standpoint what's going on here doesn't meaningfully differ from any other sort of purge.
  • Drinking a few ounces of the sludgy brown liquid usually leads to a violent purge from both ends of the body.
  • The purpose is to purge the world of the heart of anti-progressive religions.
  • Others would purge by vomiting or swallowing laxatives.
British Dictionary definitions for purge

purge

/pɜːdʒ/
verb
1.
(transitive) to rid (something) of (impure or undesirable elements)
2.
(transitive) to rid (a state, political party, etc) of (dissident or troublesome people)
3.
(transitive)
  1. to empty (the bowels) by evacuation of faeces
  2. to cause (a person) to evacuate his bowels
4.
  1. to clear (a person) of a charge
  2. to free (oneself) of guilt, as by atonement: to purge contempt
5.
(intransitive) to be cleansed or purified
noun
6.
the act or process of purging
7.
the elimination of opponents or dissidents from a state, political party, etc
8.
a purgative drug or agent; cathartic
Derived Forms
purger, noun
Word Origin
C14: from Old French purger, from Latin pūrgāre to purify
Word Origin and History for purge
v.

c.1300, "clear of a charge or suspicion;" late 14c., "cleanse, clear, purify," from Anglo-French purger, Old French purgier "wash, clean; refine, purify" morally or physically (12c., Modern French purger) and directly from Latin purgare "cleanse, make clean; purify," especially of the body, "free from what is superfluous; remove, clear away," figuratively "refute, justify, vindicate" (also source of Spanish purgar, Italian purgare), from Old Latin purigare, from purus "pure" (see pure) + root of agere "to drive, make" (see act (n.)). Related: Purged; purging.

n.

1560s, "that which purges," from purge (v.). Meaning "a purgative, an act of purging" is from 1590s. Political sense from 1730. Earliest sense in English was the now-obsolete one "examination in a legal court" (mid-15c.).

purge in Medicine

purge (pûrj)
v. purged, purg·ing, purg·es
To cause evacuation of the bowels. n.

  1. The act or process of purging.

  2. Something that purges, especially a medicinal purgative.