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
If everyone is in purgatory, how can new life be created on board?
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Claire Franken, TVLine, 21 Nov. 2024
That means thinking beyond the bar and the counter, often a purgatory of sorts for single guests.
—Dax Dasilva, Forbes, 29 Oct. 2024
The idea of purgatory has always been catnip to playwrights, going back centuries.
—Duante Beddingfield, Detroit Free Press, 20 Nov. 2024
There is no Heaven or hell, just death and purgatory, over and over again.
—Bethy Squires, Vulture, 24 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for purgatory 
Claire Franken, TVLine, 21 Nov. 2024
That means thinking beyond the bar and the counter, often a purgatory of sorts for single guests.
—Dax Dasilva, Forbes, 29 Oct. 2024
The idea of purgatory has always been catnip to playwrights, going back centuries.
—Duante Beddingfield, Detroit Free Press, 20 Nov. 2024
There is no Heaven or hell, just death and purgatory, over and over again.
—Bethy Squires, Vulture, 24 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for purgatory
Recent Examples of Synonyms for purgatory
Noun
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Without cellular service or WiFi, Perry said his family relied on the emergency notifications to prepare and get themselves out of their home — just a canyon over from the growing inferno.Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times, 10 Dec. 2024
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The inferno — dubbed the Jennings Creek Wildfire by the New Jersey Forest Fire Service — had grown to 3,500 acres and was 20% contained Tuesday morning.Minyvonne Burke, NBC News, 13 Nov. 2024
Noun
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Cut to the Yellowstone crew, still coming to grips with John Dutton’s nightmare scenario, dismantling a ranch that cannot be kept because of the tax burden.Lynette Rice, Deadline, 15 Dec. 2024
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India is feeling the full force of this Travis headwind. 2023 was bad enough, From the World Test Championship final at the Oval to Ahmedabad in the World Cup Final five months later, Head has been Rohit Sharma’s biggest nightmare.Tim Ellis, Forbes, 15 Dec. 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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Having at last regained hope from the fall of the House of Assad, the Syrian people expect no less from the countries that have for so many years allowed the country’s agony to continue at their expense.Natasha Hall, Foreign Affairs, 9 Dec. 2024
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Her family, meanwhile, suffered the agony of losing their daughter while knowing the person who killed her was walking free.NBC New York, NBC News, 3 Dec. 2024
Noun
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With no money, no allies, and nowhere to turn, Gloria is forced to flee and enter the dangerous underworld of money laundering.Veronica Villafañe, Forbes, 10 Dec. 2024
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While not much is known about the film’s genre or plot, it’s said to follow a journalist who takes on an underworld of crime and changes television forever.Matt Grobar, Deadline, 22 Oct. 2024
Noun
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Stubborn independence is, however, a blessing and a curse.Thomas Curwen, Los Angeles Times, 7 Dec. 2024
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However, this long history can be both a blessing and a curse.Mike Whitmire, Forbes, 5 Dec. 2024
Noun
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However, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.Steve Tengler, Forbes, 11 Dec. 2024
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Who knew the doorway to hell could be so… romantic?Claire Franken, TVLine, 7 Dec. 2024
Noun
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Jamie Foxx is setting the record straight about his mysterious medical ordeal.Eric Andersson, People.com, 6 Dec. 2024
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Even her description of chemotherapy—her stomach outlined, her internal organs individually asserting themselves—suggests that what her ordeal gave her was a kind of unbearable self-awareness.Molly Fischer, The New Yorker, 4 Dec. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near purgatory
Cite this Entry
“Purgatory.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/purgatory. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.
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