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
Scott Travers, Forbes, 3 Mar. 2025
Similarly, the production design of the spaces where the action unfolds reads both incredibly pristine and detailed.
—Carlos Aguilar, Variety, 2 Mar. 2025
Yet 12 townhouses on Coconut Avenue, lacking only finishing touches and certificates of occupancy, still sit empty, a row of pristine ghost homes in one of the hottest markets in the country.
—Linda Robertson, Miami Herald, 2 Mar. 2025
The country’s untamed beauty is as soaring as its limestone karsts, wild as its lush evergreen rainforests, and calming as its pristine beaches.
—Nicole Kliest, Vogue, 2 Mar. 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 9 Mar. 2025.
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pristine
adjective
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