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
Sometimes a word has to serve time in lexical purgatory before it can be admitted to the Big Book.
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Louis Menand, New Yorker, 22 Dec. 2025
Looks like Miami will give Ewers the last two games, too, as Tua’s purgatory continues.
—Miami Herald, 21 Dec. 2025
After a post-Kawhi Leonard purgatory that saw the club mired in mediocrity — and worse — the club now seems to have firmly established itself as a major team of the future.
—Alex Kirschenbaum, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Dec. 2025
Over the last 30-odd years, what was intended to be a temporary shelter has become a long-term purgatory, and that eerily stretched stillness of time is poignantly captured in Tamar Kalandadze and Julien Pebrel‘s debut documentary.
—Guy Lodge, Variety, 28 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for purgatory
Recent Examples of Synonyms for purgatory
Noun
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But the inferno nevertheless destroyed the homes of his son and daughter, who are 26 and 29.—
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The Los Angeles Fire Department made the decision to physically move the command post down Pacific Coast Highway and away from the Palisades because the inferno threatened to overtake their location.—
Noun
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In the ‘Groundhog Day’-esque nightmare that never ends, the ‘urgent’ and ‘engaged’ Boston Red Sox are up a creek without a paddle, vessel, and excuse, having lost out on a top – and very sign-able – free-agent target once again.—
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This artistic decision shifts the focus from the battlefield to the psychological and bureaucratic nightmare faced by those desperately trying to orchestrate a rescue from hundreds of miles away.—
Noun
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Girand’s journey into this netherworld was sparked by neighborhood chaos and an attempt to understand what was happening.—
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Nicole finds herself in an all too familiar place for those who have experienced the early phase of young-onset neurological disease, a netherworld between acceptance and denial.—
Noun
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The dramatic arc of the film’s first half — filled with the ecstasy of God’s embrace and the agony of imprisonment — is told through musical numbers, adapted from the Shakers’ ecstatic worship, dance, hymns, and music (watch the video above to learn more).—
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One year before Ingri and Edgar Parin D’Aulaire published their compendium of Greek myths, Cicellis released her second work of fiction, The Way to Colonos, which ruthlessly dramatizes the limits of individual freedom and the agony of facing one’s powerlessness.—
Noun
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After years of staying ahead of the law and navigating the complex alliances of the city’s underworld, Polly had closed shop and decided to try her hand at writing.—
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Meanwhile, a deviant killer operating in the yakuza underworld seems to be shadowing their moves.—
Noun
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Everything changes when a man from the protagonist's past (Harington) comes back from war, and a curse arrives in the form of a knight.—
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Nico Harrison is gone, but his curse on the Mavericks lingers.—
Noun
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They were doomed to perish in the fires of hell.—
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Shown with a gun in hand and looking disheveled, Creasy seems like he’s been through hell and back.—
Noun
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Reflecting on his ordeal with State Farm, part of him wonders if the insurer was just overwhelmed by the scale of the disaster.—
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And later, accusations of sexism flew and one participant quietly admitted to attempting the ordeal (which routinely involves force-feeding challenges) as a vegan.—
Cite this Entry
“Purgatory.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/purgatory. Accessed 20 Jan. 2026.
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