purges
Eliminates the unwanted
Purges is the plural of purge, an act of forcibly removing people or things considered undesirable.
Political purges eliminate rivals or dissenters from organizations or governments: Stalin's purges killed millions.
The word also applies to cleansing the body—a purge empties the bowels, and purging describes the self-induced vomiting of eating disorders.
To purge records is to delete them; to purge a system is to flush it clean.
Soviet autocrat, mid-century
- MaoChinese family name
- show trialsPropaganda-driven mock prosecutions
- executionsLegally sanctioned killings
- liquidationsConverting assets to cash
disappearances · denouncements · tribunals · confessions · repressions · persecutions · witch hunts · blacklists
Remove poisonous substances
- sanitizeCleanse of pathogens
- disinfectKill pathogens on surfaces
- cleanseRemove dirt or sin
- flushSame suit, five cards
decontaminate · rinse · expel · eliminate · rid · clear out · wash out · intestinal
Forced removal from place
- deportationLegal expulsion from country
- expulsionForced permanent removal
- ostracismBanishment from a group
- exclusionBeing barred from participation
eviction · excommunication · displacement · blackballing · proscription · casting out · persona non grata · shunning
Removal of contaminants
- atonementCompensation for wrongdoing
- absolutionFormal clearing of guilt
- cleansingRemoving dirt or toxins
- expiationRedress for offense
catharsis · redemption · lustration · sanctification · penance · ritual cleansing · confession · repentance
Removal of content
- wipingRubbing to clean
- erasingRemoving recorded marks
- clearingTreeless space in forest
- removingTaking something out
scrubbing · cleaning out · cache clearing · uninstalling · memory wipe · hard reset · record expungement
Acts of removing
- expulsionsFormal removals from membership
- dismissalsFormal removal from position
- firingsTerminations of employment
- layoffsMass job eliminations
ousters · removals · clearances · culling · weeding out · housecleaning · shake-up · restructuring
Stalin
Soviet autocrat, mid-century
- MaoChinese family name
- show trialsPropaganda-driven mock prosecutions
- executionsLegally sanctioned killings
liquidations · disappearances · denouncements · tribunals · confessions · repressions · persecutions · witch hunts · blacklists · McCarthyism
detoxify
Remove poisonous substances
flush · decontaminate · rinse · expel · eliminate · rid · clear out · wash out · intestinal · laxatives
banishment
Forced removal from place
- deportationLegal expulsion from country
- expulsionForced permanent removal
- ostracismBanishment from a group
exclusion · eviction · excommunication · displacement · blackballing · proscription · casting out · persona non grata · shunning · ejection
purification
Removal of contaminants
- atonementCompensation for wrongdoing
- absolutionFormal clearing of guilt
- cleansingRemoving dirt or toxins
expiation · catharsis · redemption · lustration · sanctification · penance · ritual cleansing · confession · repentance · contrition
deletion
Removal of content
removing · scrubbing · cleaning out · cache clearing · uninstalling · memory wipe · hard reset · record expungement
eliminations
Acts of removing
- expulsionsFormal removals from membership
- dismissalsFormal removal from position
- firingsTerminations of employment
layoffs · ousters · removals · clearances · culling · weeding out · housecleaning · shake-up · restructuring · downsizing
- witch huntswitch trials, witch hunt, witch hunts, Salem witch trials, Salem trials
- Eastern EuropePoland, Hungary, Romania, Ukraine, Bulgaria
- communismMarx, Marxism, Leninism, Lenin, proletariat
- French RevolutionBastille, guillotine, Robespierre, French Revolution, Marie Antoinette
- Russian HistorySoviet Union, tsars, Tsarist Russia, Romanov, czars
- Soviet EraUSSR, Soviet Union, Soviet rule, CCCP, Eastern Bloc
purgesretains
Continues to possess
keeps · preserves · maintains · safeguards · protects
purgesretains
Continues to possess
welcomes · embraces · admits · includes · reinstates
purgescontaminates
Makes unclean or impure
pollutes · taints · adulterates · corrupts · infects
- 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
purge, purging, expurgate, purged, purgative, purgation, expurgation, expurgated, purger