PURGATORY Synonyms: 65 Similar and Opposite Words

purgatory

noun

Definition of purgatory

as in inferno

a temporary place or state in which the souls of people who die make amends for their sins It was a summer job that felt like purgatory to the teen.

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as in nightmare

a place or state of temporary suffering We found ourselves trapped in the purgatory of a rush-hour traffic jam.

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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 purgatory This is for the group of players, coaches and executives who dragged New York City from the pits of basketball purgatory and ushered in a golden era of hoops. — Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 14 June 2026 It was created by Congress, in 1990, to protect undocumented kids who ended up in the child-welfare system from being deported or getting stuck in a parentless purgatory. — E. Tammy Kim, New Yorker, 20 June 2026 After spending the past few seasons in rebuilding purgatory, the Utah Jazz are poised to get back into the NBA playoff mix in 2026-27. — Bryan Toporek, Forbes.com, 20 June 2026 Because the road into Hunt was unpassable, the Childresses were forced into a monstrous kind of purgatory among other terrified parents at Ingram Elementary School. — Karen Valby, Vanity Fair, 16 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for purgatory

Recent Examples of Synonyms for purgatory

Noun

But Grand Junction’s cloudless blue sky gave no hint of the inferno that continued to ravage the Colorado-Utah border less than an hour away.

— Chelsea Bailey, CNN Money, 29 June 2026
The story detailed the first critical hours of the Palisades fire, when thousands of residents had to decide whether and how to flee the inferno.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 29 June 2026

Definition of inferno

Noun

Alistair Taylor’s reward for accompanying him into this teenage netherworld was to be given lunch at his current favorite city-center restaurant, the Peacock.

— Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 18 June 2026
The rules of this netherworld announce themselves, early on, via a nondescript wall sign.

— Justin Chang, New Yorker, 10 Apr. 2026

Definition of netherworld

Noun

Rojas said the earthquakes have caused agony for Venezuelan players, even those who didn’t lose family or friends.

— Greg Beacham, Chicago Tribune, 6 July 2026
There were the two calls in September, one about a detainee who lay on the floor holding his stomach in agony and unable to speak after swallowing an unknown object.

— Perla Trevizo, ProPublica, 3 July 2026

Definition of agony

Noun

In the dark underworld of New Orleans, the Winters family builds an empire around a powerful new drug—crafted from the ashes of the dead—that grants users vivid, haunting visions of the past.

— Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 30 June 2026
Del Toro remains one of Hollywood’s most imaginative visual entertainers, and the prospect of visiting his long-dormant underworld later in 2026 promises not just fresh nostalgia but maybe even total immersion.

— Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 30 June 2026

Definition of underworld

Noun

Flying straight from the merry Riverlands into the somber halls of Dragonstone is one hell of a comedown, but Daemon never struggles to access his dark side.

— Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 29 June 2026
Avery met his wife Sally Michael–a hell of an artist in her own right–in Cape Ann and the couple honeymooned there in 1926 before moving to New York and meeting Gottlieb and Rothko.

— Chadd Scott, Forbes.com, 29 June 2026

Definition of hell

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purgatories

purgatory

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Style

“Purgatory.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/purgatory. Accessed 8 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of purgatory

noun

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