pristine
adjective
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When pristine was anglicized in the 16th century, people borrowed the meanings of "early" and "original" from the Latin word pristinus and applied those meanings to what is desirable as well as to what is not. But it has long been a tendency of civilized people to admire a simpler and unsullied past. The supposition is that when things were in their oldest or original state, they were better. Thus, pristine was extended to describe the notion of an unspoiled, uncorrupted, or unpolluted state. And what is unspoiled or uncontaminated may connote the freshness and cleanness of something that has just been made, which explains how pristine has also come to mean "fresh and clean."
Examples of pristine in a Sentence
Laura Begley Bloom, Forbes, 20 Feb. 2025
At the end, beachgoers reach the pristine cove tucked into dramatic limestone cliffs with white sands and electric blue waters.
—Kathleen Wong, USA TODAY, 19 Feb. 2025
When used as intended, conservation easements can preserve pristine land, sometimes as a park that the public can use, and reward the land donor with a charitable tax deduction.
—Peter Elkind, ProPublica, 18 Feb. 2025
What’s more, the glacier is pristine, with no craters, meaning that it is regularly being resurfaced.
—Jeffrey Kluger, TIME, 18 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pristine
Cite this Entry
“Pristine.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pristine. Accessed 5 Mar. 2025.
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pristine
adjective
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