purge
- noun
- /pɜrdʒ/
- The committee held a purge to clear the organization of any members who had engaged in unethical behavior.
Examples
-
The Voting Rights lawyers' group is conducting an investigation into whether there was a purge of voter rolls in Pennsylvania.
Blog text (34) -
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which at that time was conducting a purge of freethinking theologians, particularly Latin American liberationists.
Fiction book (2000) -
This is cathartic for me, this purge.
Blog text (30) -
Because he's avoiding meat for ninety days as a purge.
Fiction book (1997) -
It was a truly dark time, and the purge and subsequent laicizations and corrections within the seminaries were absolutely necessary.
Blog text (23) -
Despite this purge and a number of other high-profile prosecutions, corruption remains pervasive in the Chinese system and will remain so as long as its structural sources remain.
Academic text (2002) -
But the argument, as Hanushek makes it today, that a one-time purge of easily identified bad teachers would close the achievement gap between the US and higher-performing countries like Canada and Finland, is just laughable.
Blog text (6) -
After the scandal, the journalist conducted a purge to remove any articles that could damage the magazine's reputation.
-
The company needed a purge to eliminate any lingering doubts about its integrity and restore trust among its employees.
Synonyms
10
7.9
An official clearing of a person from blame after being accused
3
5.2
Making people trust someone again after their reputation was damaged
1
6.0
Removing doubt about someone so they are not blamed anymore
1
9.9
The act of clearing someone from blame
1
7.4
Clearing someone of blame or shame
1
9.9
An act that clears someone from blame or suspicion
1
7.9
Removing shame and negative ideas about a person, group, or problem
Compounds
- Specialized
1
7.4
A serious eating problem where people eat large amounts then make themselves throw up or fast to avoid weight gain
How Cleared
Surface Forms
Etymology
The word purge comes from Latin purgare, which means 'to make clean', and is related to purify and pure, so a legal or ritual purge is a formal act to clear a person of blame or shame.