purgatory

pur·ga·to·ry  (pûrg-tôr, -tr)

n. pl. pur·ga·to·ries

1. Roman Catholic Church A state in which the souls of those who have died in grace must expiate their sins.

2. A place or condition of suffering, expiation, or remorse: a purgatory of drug abuse.

adj.

Tending to cleanse or purge.

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[Middle English purgatorie, from Old French purgatoire, from Medieval Latin prgtrium, from Late Latin, means of purgation, from neuter of prgtrius, cleansing, from Latin prgre, to cleanse; see purge.]

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purgatory

Noun

1. Chiefly RC Church a place in which the souls of those who have died undergo limited suffering for their sins on earth before they go to heaven

2. a situation of temporary suffering or torment: it was purgatory living in the same house as him [Latin purgare to purify]

purgatorial adj

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	purgatory - a temporary condition of torment or suffering; "a purgatory of drug abuse" situation - a complex or critical or unusual difficulty; "the dangerous situation developed suddenly"; "that's quite a situation"; "no human situation is simple"
	2.	purgatory - (theology) in Roman Catholic theology the place where those who have died in a state of grace undergo limited torment to expiate their sins fictitious place, imaginary place, mythical place - a place that exists only in imagination; a place said to exist in fictional or religious writings theology, divinity - the rational and systematic study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truth

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purgatory

noun torment, agony, murder (informal) hell (informal) torture, misery, hell on earth

Translations

purgatory [ˈpəːgətərɪ] n → purgatorio

purgatory [ˈpəːgətərɪ] n (Rel) → das Fegefeuer (fig); die Hölle