purple

1 of 3

adjective

pur·​ple ˈpər-pəl 

purpler ˈpər-p(ə-)lər  ; purplest ˈpər-p(ə-)ləst 

1

: having a color between red and blue : of the color purple

a purple flower

purple fabric

… can only have left his antagonists purple with frustration.

—Joseph Epstein

2

a

: ornately and showily phrased or expressed

… the writing often descends into the purple prose of a besotted fan.

—Stephen Holden

… Rice is a first-rate writer. There are no purple patches in this narrative, and no attempts to sermonize.

—Lawrence S. Cunningham

b

: marked by profanity

His language in public is so purple they had to stop broadcasting the meetings of the city council.

—Newsweek

3

US politics : having roughly equal levels of support for Democratic and Republican candidates or policies

… a blue candidate trying to swipe a red seat in a purple state.

—Don Rollins

… as the race pulled tighter than Paris Hilton's jeans, Kerry volunteers flooded the purple states to energize their voters—tens of thousands of them newly registered.

—Michelle Cottle

compare blue sense 9, red sense 5

4

dated : regal, imperial

purple

2 of 3

noun

1

a(1)

: cloth dyed purple

(2)

: a garment of such color

especially : a purple robe worn as an emblem of rank or authority

b(1)

: tyrian purple

(2)

: any of various colors that fall about midway between red and blue in hue

c(1)

: a mollusk (as of the genus Purpura) yielding a purple dye and especially the Tyrian purple of ancient times

(2)

: a pigment or dye that colors purple

2

a

: imperial or regal rank or power

b

: high rank or station

purple

3 of 3

verb

purpled; purpling ˈpər-p(ə-)liŋ 

transitive verb

: to make purple

intransitive verb

: to become purple

Synonyms

Adjective

• aureate
• florid
• flowery
• grandiloquent
• high-flown
• high-sounding
• highfalutin
• hifalutin
• magnific
• ornate
• rhetorical
• rhetoric

Examples of purple in a Sentence

Adjective

The book contains a few purple passages.

Her writing was full of purple prose.

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Lavender plants serve a dual purpose here with their pastel purple blooms and silvery foliage, as does the Wisley Pink rock rose (Helianthemum) and lamb’s ear (Stachys byzantina). —Cori Sears, Better Homes & Gardens, 11 Dec. 2024

The political stakes in purple states — those with small electoral margins that can swing back and forth between the two major parties — are enormous. —Christopher Cooper / Made By History, TIME, 11 Dec. 2024

Noun

Yellow is the easiest category, followed by green, blue and purple. —Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 11 Dec. 2024

The four-piece nail set in the collection features a pale gold, a dark, inky purple, a gunmetal gray, and a copper. —Aamina Inayat Khan, StyleCaster, 4 Dec. 2024

Verb

Longtime locals wondered if a pandemic-era influx of new residents from more urban parts of California — most of them Democrats or independents — had forever purpled the place. —Hailey Branson-Potts, Los Angeles Times, 27 Nov. 2024

Phosphorus deficiency symptoms occur in the older leaves first and typical deficiency symptoms are purpling of leaves and leaf margins and stunted growth. —Dr. Haiying Tao, Hartford Courant, 3 Feb. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Middle English purpel, alteration of purper, from Old English purpuran of purple, genitive of purpure purple color, from Latin purpura, from Greek porphyra

First Known Use

Adjective

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a(1)

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Phrases Containing purple

• purple coneflower
• purple finch
• purple loosestrife
• purple martin
• purple passage
• purple scale
• royal purple
• Tyrian purple
• visual purple

Kids Definition

purple

1 of 3 adjective

pur·​ple ˈpər-pəl 

purpler -p(ə-)lər  ; purplest -p(ə-)ləst 

: of the color purple

purple

2 of 3 noun

: a color midway between red and blue

purple

3 of 3 verb

purpled; purpling ˈpər-p(ə-)liŋ 

: to turn purple

Medical Definition

purple

1 of 2 adjective

pur·​ple ˈpər-pəl 

purpler -p(ə-)lər  ; purplest -p(ə-)ləst 

: of the color purple

purple

2 of 2 noun

1

: any of various colors that fall about midway between red and blue in hue

2

: a pigment or dye that colors purple see visual purple