purge
Rid of unwanteds
Purge means to remove or eliminate something unwanted, often by force or thorough cleansing.
You purge toxins from your body, purge files from a hard drive, or purge disloyal members from an organization.
Political purges involve systematic removal of opponents, sometimes violently: Stalin's purges killed millions.
In medicine, a purge empties the bowels.
To purge yourself of guilt is to confess or atone.
The noun refers to an instance of purging: a purge of the party leadership.
Substance removal process
- flushSame suit, five cards
- laxativePromotes intestinal evacuation
- colonLarge intestine section
- cleanseRemove dirt or sin
elimination · fasting · enema · toxins · withdrawal · system · bowel · digestive
Destroy completely, utterly
- expungeDelete entirely, officially
- removeTake something away
- deleteRemove or erase
- clearWithout obstruction or fog
excise · wipe out · root out · efface · sweep away · liquidate · abolish · extirpate
Remove unwanted substances
- cleanseRemove dirt or sin
- absolveRelease from guilt
- sanctifyMake officially holy
- atonementCompensation for wrongdoing
catharsis · baptism · penance · ritual · exorcism · redemption · consecrate · ablution
Soviet autocrat, mid-century
- gulagForced labor prison system
- persecutionSystematic mistreatment of groups
- dissidentsPolitical objectors
- witch huntPersecuting supposed wrongdoers
McCarthyism · blacklist · show trial · exile · deportation · oust · enemies · crackdown
detox
Substance removal process
cleanse · elimination · fasting · enema · toxins · withdrawal · system · bowel · digestive · intestinal
eradicate
Destroy completely, utterly
clear · excise · wipe out · root out · efface · sweep away · liquidate · abolish · extirpate · obliterate
delete
Remove or erase
flush · cache · cookies · history · files · data · storage · memory · uninstall · cleanup
purify
Remove unwanted substances
atonement · catharsis · baptism · penance · ritual · exorcism · redemption · consecrate · ablution · repentance
Stalin
Soviet autocrat, mid-century
- gulagForced labor prison system
- persecutionSystematic mistreatment of groups
- dissidentsPolitical objectors
witch hunt · McCarthyism · blacklist · show trial · exile · deportation · oust · enemies · crackdown · repression
retch
Gag involuntarily
- heaveForceful lift or throw
- gagMouth restraint or jest
- regurgitateExpel swallowed matter
disgorge · throw up · upchuck · spew · binge · bulimia · nausea · emetic · ipecac · stomach
- Dystopia1984, Nineteen Eighty-Four, dystopian fiction, totalitarianism, Brave New World
- removalremove, elimination, delete, erasing, erase
- root outroot out, flush out, ferret out, smoke out, weed out
- witch huntswitch trials, witch hunt, witch hunts, Salem witch trials, Salem trials
- TronTron, Flynn, disc, ISO, portal
- cleaningcleaning, clean, housekeeping, clean up, daily cleaning
- The PurgeSystematic removal of many
- political purgesForced removal of opponents
- voter purgesMass removal from registries
- closet purgeRemoving unwanted clothing items
- party purgesMass expulsion of members
- drastic purgativeStrong bowel-emptying medicine
purging, purgatory, expurgate, purged, purges, purgative, expurgation, expurgated, purgatives