1
as in inferno
a temporary place or state in which the souls of people who die make amends for their sins
It was a summer job that felt like purgatory to the teen.
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2
as in nightmare
a place or state of temporary suffering
We found ourselves trapped in the purgatory of a rush-hour traffic jam.
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Recent Examples of purgatory
Kamala Harris went unmentioned, stuck at the time in the purgatory of veep-dom and not yet the Democratic nominee (and possible first Asian-American president).
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Yiyun Li, Harper's Magazine, 23 Oct. 2024
Edward gives up his bed for one of the ladies and settles into carers’ purgatory.
—Stephanie Bunbury, Deadline, 20 Oct. 2024
In what could be best described as three seasons of purgatory in Sacramento before calling Las Vegas their home, the Athletics leave behind a cherished legacy and fan base in Oakland that deserved far more than a tone-deaf goodbye letter.
—Wayne G. McDonnell, Jr., Forbes, 26 Sep. 2024
Instead, filmmaker Valerio Mastandrea imagines a very present-tense purgatory, following the comings and goings and general doldrums of a group of coma patients caught between life and death.
—Ben Croll, IndieWire, 12 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for purgatory 
Yiyun Li, Harper's Magazine, 23 Oct. 2024
Edward gives up his bed for one of the ladies and settles into carers’ purgatory.
—Stephanie Bunbury, Deadline, 20 Oct. 2024
In what could be best described as three seasons of purgatory in Sacramento before calling Las Vegas their home, the Athletics leave behind a cherished legacy and fan base in Oakland that deserved far more than a tone-deaf goodbye letter.
—Wayne G. McDonnell, Jr., Forbes, 26 Sep. 2024
Instead, filmmaker Valerio Mastandrea imagines a very present-tense purgatory, following the comings and goings and general doldrums of a group of coma patients caught between life and death.
—Ben Croll, IndieWire, 12 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for purgatory
Recent Examples of Synonyms for purgatory
Noun
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In Nickel Boys, the inferno is called the Nickel Academy and the story zooms in on a friendship between two young men, studious and hopeful Elwood, played by Ethan Herisse, and Brandon Wilson’s more cynical Turner.Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 27 Sep. 2024
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This is important because any sort of flaw in a battery could lead to an inferno, says Venkat Srinivasan, who studies batteries and directs the Argonne Collaborative Center for Energy Storage Science at the US’s Argonne National Laboratory.Aarian Marshall, WIRED, 15 Sep. 2024
Noun
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And to be in this iconic closet is a nightmare come true.Harrison Richlin, IndieWire, 3 Nov. 2024
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Mold habits die hard Your nightmare blunt rotation (Logan Paul, Mr. Beast, and KSI) now make food for children, and to no one’s surprise: There’s mold in it.Kate Lindsay, Vulture, 1 Nov. 2024
Noun
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Below that is the Futures tour, tennis’s vast netherworld of more than 2,000 true prospects and hopeless dreamers.Carolyn Wells, Longreads, 8 July 2024
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Tells Real-Life Tales of the Country's Most Notorious Motorcycle Gang 'Dune: Part Two' Is Bigger, Bolder — and Yes, Even Better — Than Part One Lyons’ book also utilized a long, taped conversation with Kathy Bauer, the real-life Benny’s wife, as a dispatch from this dirty-fingernail netherworld.David Fear, Rolling Stone, 21 June 2024
Noun
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Compared to the agony and the ecstasy on display in McQueen’s extraordinary Small Axe compilation, which celebrated the United Kingdom’s diaspora culture while forcing the country to reckon with its institutionally racist past, this might seem like weak tea.David Fear, Rolling Stone, 1 Nov. 2024
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The movie One of the darkest true stories on this list, An American Crime never undersells or soft-pedals the ceaseless agony of Likens’ ordeal.Declan Gallagher and Chris Bellamy, EW.com, 31 Oct. 2024
Noun
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As the title indicates, the story centers around Hit-Monkey (Fred Tatasciore), a snow monkey intent on taking out the Tokyo underworld with the help of his mentor, Bryce Fowler (Jason Sudeikis).Jennifer M. Wood, WIRED, 5 Nov. 2024
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That leads them into a vast, interconnected conspiracy linking the murky London underworld to a looming geopolitical crisis.Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 30 Oct. 2024
Noun
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Regardless of whether one sees it as a triumph or a curse, there is no reason to expect that low fertility will be reversed in any major way.Vegard Skirbekk, Foreign Affairs, 6 Nov. 2024
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Just one episode after breaking her family’s curse, Alice lies dead on the ground, and the witches—and especially Teen—are not happy.Erik Kain, Forbes, 10 Oct. 2024
Noun
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Not-so-happy couple Anne (Synnøve Karlsen) and Patrick (Luke Norris) go on the ultimate hell ride with a gregarious, over-sharing driver (Nick Frost, living it up here).Randy Myers, The Mercury News, 7 Nov. 2024
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So, the ex-lovers strike a deal: If Agatha can get Billy to willingly turn himself in and let Rio kill him, then Rio will stop pursuing Agatha and making her life hell.Rebecca Iannucci, TVLine, 30 Oct. 2024
Noun
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Speaking publicly for the first time about her ordeal, Muldrow says that the canvassers in her group were fired with little explanation beyond a complaint that someone had spoken with the press.Jake Lahut, WIRED, 3 Nov. 2024
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Her ordeals shaped a view of resilience as an active commitment to growth, not just responding to simple setbacks.Dan Pontefract, Forbes, 28 Oct. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near purgatory
Cite this Entry
“Purgatory.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/purgatory. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.
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