purgatorial
Between damnation, salvation
Purgatorial describes something resembling or relating to purgatory—the Catholic concept of a place where souls are purified through suffering before entering heaven.
The word usually appears figuratively for experiences that are painful, tedious, or cleansing through ordeal: The three-hour delay felt purgatorial.
A purgatorial experience suggests suffering that serves some purpose or will eventually end.
State of uncertain waiting
- thresholdPoint of beginning
- in-betweenOccupying middle position
- suspendedHalted or hanging temporarily
- waitingRemaining in expectation
intermediate · transitional · neither-nor · betwixt · passage · anteroom · vestibule · halfway
Remorseful state over misdeeds
- repentanceRemorseful rejection of past wrongs
- remorseGuilt for wrongdoing
- atonementCompensation for wrongdoing
- absolutionFormal clearing of guilt
penance · expiation · confession · guilt · redemption · sackcloth · mortification · self-reproach
Severe prolonged suffering
- afflictionCause of ongoing distress
- ordealDifficult, painful experience
- tribulationState of great distress
- anguishIntense mental suffering
agony · trial · hardship · misery · woe · distress · pain · endurance
Severe and unadorned
- bleakDreary and without cheer
- bareLacking any covering
- sparseThinly scattered or distributed
- monasticOf religious community life
ascetic · severe · harsh · unadorned · grim · somber · gray · cheerless
Conditional and possibly temporary
- transientTemporary, soon departing
- finiteHaving definite bounds
- boundedConfined within limits
- terminableAble to be ended
limited · passing · impermanent · fleeting · hopeful · redemptive · meaningful · progressive
limbo
State of uncertain waiting
- thresholdPoint of beginning
- in-betweenOccupying middle position
- suspendedHalted or hanging temporarily
waiting · intermediate · transitional · neither-nor · betwixt · passage · anteroom · vestibule · halfway · interstitial
contrition
Remorseful state over misdeeds
- repentanceRemorseful rejection of past wrongs
- remorseGuilt for wrongdoing
- atonementCompensation for wrongdoing
absolution · penance · expiation · confession · guilt · redemption · sackcloth · mortification · self-reproach · reparation
torment
Severe prolonged suffering
- afflictionCause of ongoing distress
- ordealDifficult, painful experience
- tribulationState of great distress
anguish · agony · trial · hardship · misery · woe · distress · pain · endurance · travail
stark
Severe and unadorned
monastic · ascetic · severe · harsh · unadorned · grim · somber · gray · cheerless · comfortless
provisional
Conditional and possibly temporary
terminable · limited · passing · impermanent · fleeting · hopeful · redemptive · meaningful · progressive · staged
purgatorialheavenly
Divinely pleasant or blissful
celestial · paradisiacal · infernal · hellish · beatific
purgatorialblissful
Extremely serene and joyful
idyllic · euphoric · pleasurable · rapturous · comfortable
purgatorialfinal
Last and decisive
decisive · resolved · settled · conclusive · definitive