Wordul · all words

verb · 1 syllable · /pɜːrdʒ/

PURGE

What does "PURGE" mean?

To rid something of unwanted elements, often forcibly or completely.

Meanings

  1. To remove unwanted people or things, often abruptly or by force. The regime purged its critics from every ministry.
  2. To clear or cleanse the body, a system, or the mind of something impure. Run the command to purge the cache. technical
  3. An act of removing people or things considered undesirable. The party leadership ordered a purge of dissidents.

Did you know?

  • 'Purge' literally means 'to make pure': it comes from Latin 'purgare', built from 'purus' ('pure') and a root meaning 'to drive' - to drive a thing toward purity.

Word origin

From Latin 'purgare' ('to cleanse, purify'), from 'purus' ('pure') + '-igare' (from 'agere', 'to drive'); via Old French 'purgier' into English.

Remember it

PURGE starts like PURE and ends in the same edge as 'urge' - the urge to make pure by driving out.

A little poem

They called it cleansing, called it light;
but every list that names the saved
is just a quieter way to fight.

tercet

Wordplay

  • I told my computer to purge old files. It deleted my excuses for not starting the project too.

What it teaches

Beware anyone who promises purity by subtraction; the list of the impure never stops growing.

Quick facts

What does PURGE mean?

To rid something of unwanted elements, often forcibly or completely.

Is PURGE a valid word?

Yes — PURGE is one of the answer words in Wordul, the daily word game.

How many letters is PURGE?

PURGE has 5 letters and 1 syllable.

Where does PURGE come from?

From Latin 'purgare' ('to cleanse, purify'), from 'purus' ('pure') + '-igare' (from 'agere', 'to drive'); via Old French 'purgier' into English.

What can PURGE teach us?

Beware anyone who promises purity by subtraction; the list of the impure never stops growing.

How players do

Be the first to solve it.

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