PURIFICATORY Synonyms: 30 Similar and Opposite Words

purificatory

adjective

Definition of purificatory

as in purifying

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of purificatory Many stepwells were used for ablution; the tanks associated with mosques, Hindu temples and other shrines offered the most purificatory form. Summoning water from the depths was also a symbol of temporal power. — The Economist, 13 July 2019

Recent Examples of Synonyms for purificatory

Adjective

The in-shower treatment is meant to be used post-cleansing; simply massage it into wet hair and rinse it out two-to-three times a week.

— Annie Blackman, InStyle, 24 June 2026
To use the bestseller, distribute three pumps over the face and neck daily, post-cleansing, and start savoring its impressive effects after a couple of months of consistent application.

— Stacia Datskovska, Footwear News, 26 Dec. 2025

Definition of cleansing

Adjective

Perhaps the most moving moment of the finale is the last between John and Hal (or, more accurately, the Hal-o-gram).

— Ben Travers, IndieWire, 4 Oct. 2026
Perhaps the most moving moment of Don’t Look Back in Anger arrives early with the first of the reunion concerts in Cardiff, Wales.

— Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 10 Sep. 2026

Definition of moving

Adjective

That Langley’s song has resonated to this extent without hardly any remixes or chart-boosting gimmicks makes the classic-meets-contemporary song all the more impressive.

— Jonathan Bernstein, Rolling Stone, 14 Oct. 2026
Flaco the owl became a celebrity Central Park resident, with breathless news coverage of Flaco’s impressive self-preservation skills and, eventually, mournful obituaries when Flaco died after flying into a building.

— Kathryn VanArendonk, Vulture, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of impressive

Browse Nearby Words

purifications

purificatory

purified

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Purificatory.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/purificatory. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of purificatory

adjective

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

jilt

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

Popular in Wordplay

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Games & Quizzes