pure

UK: /ˈpjʊə^r/ US: /pjʊr/ ,(pyŏŏr)

Inflections of 'pure' (adj):

purer

adj comparative

purest

adj superlative

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

pure /pyʊr/   adj., pur•er, pur•est. 

1. free from any extra matter or material:
   pure enough to drink.
2. not changed by mixing;
   clear:
   pure white.
3. complete;
   absolute:
   [before a noun] a pure accident.
4. of unmixed ancestry:
   The dog was a pure German shepherd.
5. free from blemishes:
   pure skin.
6. abstract or theoretical (opposed to applied ):
   [before a noun] pure mathematics.
7. free from evil:
   a pure heart.
8. chaste;
   virgin:
   a pure maiden.

pure•ness, n. [uncountable] See -pur-.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

pure  (pyŏŏr), adj., pur•er, pur•est. 

1. free from anything of a different, inferior, or contaminating kind;
   free from extraneous matter:
   pure gold; pure water.
2. unmodified by an admixture;
   simple or homogeneous.
3. of unmixed descent or ancestry:
   a pure breed of dog.
4. free from foreign or inappropriate elements:
   pure Attic Greek.
5. clear;
   free from blemishes:
   pure skin.
6. (of literary style) straightforward;
   unaffected.
7. abstract or theoretical (opposed to applied):
   pure science.
8. without any discordant quality;
   clear and true:
   pure tones in music.
9. absolute;
   utter;
   sheer:
   to sing for pure joy.
10. being that and nothing else;
    mere:
    a pure accident.
11. clean, spotless, or unsullied:
    pure hands.
12. untainted with evil;
    innocent:
    pure in heart.
13. physically chaste;
    virgin.
14. ceremonially or ritually clean.
15. free of or without guilt;
    guiltless.
16. independent of sense or experience:
    pure knowledge.
17. [Biol., Genetics.]
    • homozygous.
    • containing only one characteristic for a trait.
18. Phonetics monophthongal.

• Latin pūrus clean, unmixed, plain, pure
• Old French
• Middle English pur 1250–1300

pure′ness, n. 
Synonyms

• 1. unmixed, unadulterated, unalloyed, uncontaminated, untainted, unstained, undefiled, untarnished, immaculate, unpolluted, uncorrupted. See clean.
• 12.  modest, virtuous, undefiled.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

pure / pjʊə/ adjective

1. not mixed with any extraneous or dissimilar materials, elements, etc
2. free from tainting or polluting matter; clean; wholesome: pure water
3. free from moral taint or defilement: pure love
4. (prenominal) (intensifier): pure stupidity, a pure coincidence
5. (of a subject, etc) studied in its theoretical aspects rather than for its practical applications: pure mathematics, pure science
   Compare applied
6. (of a vowel) pronounced with more or less unvarying quality without any glide; monophthongal
7. (of a consonant) not accompanied by another consonant
8. of supposedly unmixed racial descent
9. breeding true for one or more characteristics; homozygous

Etymology: 13th Century: from Old French pur, from Latin pūrus unstained

ˈpureness noun