without qualification; used informally as (often pejorative) intensifiers; "an arrant fool"; "a complete coward"; "a consummate fool"; "a double-dyed villain"; "gross negligence"; "a perfect idiot"; "pure folly"; "what a sodding mess"; "stark staring mad"; "a thoroughgoing villain"; "utter nonsense"
free of extraneous elements of any kind; "pure air and water"; "pure gold"; "pure primary colors"; "the violin's pure and lovely song"; "pure tones"
emphasis Pure means complete and total. The old man turned to give her a look of pure surprise = sheer
Of a single, simple sound or tone; said of some vowels and the unaspirated consonants
Pure science or pure research is concerned only with theory and not with how this theory can be used in practical ways. Physics isn't just about pure science with no immediate applications applied
in a state of sexual virginity; "pure and vestal modesty"; "a spinster or virgin lady"; "men have decreed that their women must be pure and virginal"
concerned with theory and data rather than practice; opposed to applied; "pure science"
Separate from all heterogeneous or extraneous matter; free from mixture or combination; clean; mere; simple; unmixed; as, pure water; pure clay; pure air; pure compassion
free of extraneous elements of any kind; "pure air and water"; "pure gold"; "pure primary colors"; "the violin's pure and lovely song"; "pure tones
used of persons or behaviors; having no faults; sinless; "I felt pure and sweet as a new baby"- Sylvia Plath; "pure as the driven snow"
not mixed with anything sensible Although its proper opposite is 'impure', Kant normally opposes 'pure' to 'empirical'
If you describe something such as a colour, a sound, or a type of light as pure, you mean that it is very clear and represents a perfect example of its type. flowers in a whole range of blues with the occasional pure white. + purity pu·rity The soaring purity of her voice conjured up the frozen bleakness of the Far North
A term used by conservative Christians to refer to the approximately 20% of teens or young adults who have not become sexually active before marriage Many who are not conservative Christians regard sexual activity within a committed relationship prior to marriage to be a moral decision, which makes neither partner less pure; they consider the term to be offensive
Something that is pure is clean and does not contain any harmful substances. In remote regions, the air is pure and the crops are free of poisonous insecticides. demands for purer and cleaner river water. + purity pu·rity They worried about the purity of tap water
If you describe a form of art or a philosophy as pure, you mean that it is produced or practised according to a standard or form that is expected of it. Nicholson never swerved from his aim of making pure and simple art. + purity pu·rity verse of great purity, sonority of rhythm, and symphonic form