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
Angelina Villa-Clarke, Forbes, 16 Dec. 2024
For water enthusiasts, Dominica recently unveiled a groundbreaking 32-nautical-mile kayak trail encircling the island—a six-day journey through pristine waters.
—Alexandra Gillespie, Outside Online, 16 Dec. 2024
Watch on Deadline The episode begins with Rainwater’s right-hand man, Mo Brings Plenty, leading a group that sabotages the pipeline that was being constructed on the pristine prairie after Gov. John Dutton was murdered.
—Lynette Rice, Deadline, 15 Dec. 2024
Meanwhile, fires deep in pristine parts of the Amazon reminded researchers that drought might be breaking down the majestic mechanism that moves water inland across the rain forest, and in the Antarctic there were signs that the melt of crucial glaciers was accelerating.
—Bill McKibben, The New Yorker, 13 Dec. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Pristine.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pristine. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.
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pristine
adjective
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