'Purgatory' definitions:
Definition of 'purgatory'
(from WordNet)
noun
A temporary condition of torment or suffering; "a purgatory of drug abuse"
noun
(theology) in Roman Catholic theology the place where those who have died in a state of grace undergo limited torment to expiate their sins
Definition of 'Purgatory'
From: GCIDE
- Purgatory \Pur"ga*to*ry\, a. [L. purgatorius.] Tending to cleanse; cleansing; expiatory. --Burke. [1913 Webster]
Definition of 'Purgatory'
From: GCIDE
- Purgatory \Pur"ga*to*ry\, n. [Cf. F. purgatoire.] A state or place of purification after death; according to the Roman Catholic creed, a place, or a state believed to exist after death, in which the souls of persons are purified by expiating such offenses committed in this life as do not merit eternal damnation, or in which they fully satisfy the justice of God for sins that have been forgiven. After this purgation from the impurities of sin, the souls are believed to be received into heaven. [1913 Webster]
Synonyms of 'purgatory'
From: Moby Thesaurus
- Abaddon,
- asceticism,
- avichi,
- bog,
- cage,
- clawing,
- cold purgatorial fires,
- coop,
- cruciation,
- crucifixion,
- Day of Atonement,
- enclosure,
- fasting,
- fen,
- flagellation,
- Gehenna,
- Hades,
- hair shirt,
- hell,
- hell upon earth,
- holocaust,
- horror,
- infernal regions,
- inferno,
- jahannan,
- laceration,
- lancination,
- limbo,
- lower world,
- lustration,
- maceration,
- marsh,
- martyrdom,
- mire,
- morass,
- mortification,
- Naraka,
- nether world,
- nightmare,
- Pandemonium,
- passion,
- pen,
- penance,
- penfold,
- penitence,
- penitential act,
- penitential exercise,
- perdition,
- persecution,
- pinfold,
- place of confinement,
- place of torment,
- pound,
- purgation,
- quag,
- quagmire,
- rack,
- repentance,
- sackcloth and ashes,
- shades below,
- Sheol,
- slough,
- sump,
- the abyss,
- the bottomless pit,
- the grave,
- the pit,
- Tophet,
- torment,
- torture,
- underworld,
- Yom Kippur