im·pure

(ĭm-pyo͝or′)

adj. im·pur·er, im·pur·est

1. Not pure or clean; contaminated.

2. Not purified by religious rite; unclean.

3. Immoral or sinful: impure thoughts.

4. Mixed with another, usually inferior substance; adulterated.

5. Being a composite of more than one color or mixed with black or white.

6. Deriving from more than one source, style, or convention; eclectic: an impure art form.

im·pure′ly adv.

im·pure′ness n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

impureness - the condition of being impure

impurity

condition, status - a state at a particular time; "a condition (or state) of disrepair"; "the current status of the arms negotiations"

adulteration, debasement - being mixed with extraneous material; the product of adulterating

admixture, alloy - the state of impairing the quality or reducing the value of something

contamination, taint - the state of being contaminated

dirtiness - the state of containing dirty impurities

putridity - the state of being putrid

pollution - undesirable state of the natural environment being contaminated with harmful substances as a consequence of human activities

Mentioned in

References in periodicals archive

& GENDER 1, 21 (2014) (arguing, in the context of stigma surrounding menstruation, that "it must be ensured that women and girls can actually use sanitation facilities--including on the days they menstruate--rather than being excluded from using them due to cultural beliefs of 'impureness' and 'contamination'").

Human rights accountability through treaty bodies: examining human rights treaty monitoring for water and sanitation

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