impure

UK: /ɪmˈpjʊə^r/ US: /ɪmˈpjʊr/ ,(im pyŏŏr′)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

im•pure /ɪmˈpyʊr/   adj. 

1. of or relating to impurity:
   impure water.
2. not chaste:
   He was having impure thoughts about his girlfriend.

im•pure•ly, adv. See -pur-.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

im•pure  (im pyŏŏr′), adj. 

1. not pure;
   mixed with extraneous matter, esp. of an inferior or contaminating nature:
   impure water and air.
2. modified by admixture, as color.
3. mixed or combined with something else:
   an impure style of architecture.
4. regarded by a religion as unclean, as animals or things.
5. not morally pure or proper;
   unchaste or obscene:
   impure thoughts.
6. marked by foreign and unsuitable or objectionable elements or characteristics, as a style of art or of literary expression.

• Latin impūrus. See im-², pure
• 1530–40

im•pure′ly, adv. 
im•pure′ness, n. 
Synonyms

• 5. coarse, vulgar, improper, licentious.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

impure / ɪmˈpjʊə/ adjective

1. not pure; combined with something else; tainted or sullied
2. (in certain religions) (of persons) ritually unclean and as such debarred from certain religious ceremonies
3. (of a colour) mixed with another colour or with black or white
4. of more than one origin or style, as of architecture or other design

imˈpurely adverb

imˈpureness noun