Definition and pronunciation
pure /pjʊr/ — adjective: free from contamination, clean, morally good, or sexually innocent; can also mean genuine, unmixed, or absolute.
Easy explanation
Pure means clean, perfect, or free from anything “dirty.” It can describe physical things (pure water), moral qualities (pure heart), or sexual innocence (a pure girl). People also use it to mean something real and untainted, like pure love or pure gold.
Grammatical formation
- Adjective: pure.
- Comparative: purer.
- Superlative: purest.
- Noun: purity.
- Adverb: purely.
Meanings and nuances
- Physical cleanliness — free from dirt or pollution (“pure water”).
- Moral/spiritual goodness — free from sin, corruption, or dishonesty (“pure heart”).
- Sexual innocence — sexually inexperienced or modest (“a pure maiden”).
- Unmixed/genuine — consisting of only one element (“pure gold”).
- Absolute/total — used for emphasis (“pure joy”).
With prepositions and variants
- pure of heart/mind: “He was pure of heart.”
- pure in intention: “Her love was pure in intention.”
- pure from corruption: “He kept himself pure from dishonesty.”
Common collocations
pure water, pure gold, pure heart, pure soul, pure love, pure innocence, pure science, pure truth, pure air, pure intention
Idioms and neighboring expressions
- pure as the driven snow — completely innocent or clean
- pure and simple — plain, obvious, no complications
- sheer/pure luck — entirely due to luck
Word comparisons
- pure vs clean: clean = free from dirt; pure = free from any contamination or corruption (physical, moral, or spiritual).
- pure vs virgin: virgin = not had sex; pure = can mean virgin, but also innocence or goodness in general.
- pure vs modest: modest = humble/restraint; pure = untainted, innocent.
- pure vs innocent: innocent = not guilty/childlike; pure = uncorrupted, often tied to morality or sexuality.
Real-life examples
- “The pure water from the spring tasted fresh.”
- “She had a pure heart and helped everyone.”
- “The necklace was made of pure gold.”
- “They shared a pure love, without selfishness.”
- “Victorian society demanded women remain pure until marriage.”
Sample sentences
- “The mountain air was pure and fresh.”
- “Her pure heart was admired by all.”
- “The scientist focused on pure research.”
- “Their love was pure and unconditional.”
- “He was considered pure of soul.”
- “The ring was made of pure silver.”
- “Pure joy filled the room when the baby was born.”
- “She was praised as a pure maiden.”
- “The law should be based on pure justice.”
- “Victorian culture equated purity with being sexually pure.”
Synonyms
clean, untainted, genuine, uncontaminated, virtuous, innocent, chaste, modest, holy, simple
Antonyms
impure, dirty, corrupt, tainted, sinful, immoral, mixed, contaminated
Related terms
purity, virginity, chastity, innocence, modesty, propriety, virtue
Connection to sexuality
Yes. Pure is often linked to sexuality, especially in traditional or religious contexts where women’s virginity and chastity were idealized as “purity.” In modern usage, this association is criticized as sexist and outdated, though the word is still widely used in moral and spiritual senses.
Sexopedia.co is an educational glossary of sexual and gender-related terms—helping you improve your English while deepening your understanding of identity, language, and self-expression.