pure
/ˈpjʊə/adjective, adverb, verb, noun
pure is spelled P-U-R-E: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 44 times per million words in written English, the 2,290th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, pure means “Free of flaws or imperfections; unsullied” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in pure?
| Letters | 4: P-U-R-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 |
| In writing | 44 times per million words; the 2,290th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is pure?
Pure appears 44 times per million words in written English, the 2,290th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce pure?
- UK /ˈpjʊə/
- UK /ˈpjɔː/
- British /ˈpjɵː/
As a noun (“Alternative form of puer (“dung (e.g. of dogs)”)”): /pjʊə/, /pjʊɹ/.
Pure has one syllable.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-pure.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with pure?
5 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as pure from its last stressed vowel (/ʊə/, British pronunciation):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: puer.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of pure
- purer comparative
- more pure comparative
- purest superlative
- most pure superlative
- pures present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- puring participle, present
- pured participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does pure mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Free of flaws or imperfections; unsullied.
- 2
Free of foreign material or pollutants.
- 3
Free of immoral behavior or qualities; clean.
- 4
Mere; that and that only.
That idea is pure madness!
- 5
Done for its own sake instead of serving another branch of science.
- 6
Of a single, simple sound or tone; said of some vowels and the unaspirated consonants.
- 7
Without harmonics or overtones; not harsh or discordant.
- 8
Having no side effects.
a pure method
adverb
- 1
Scotlandto a great extent or degree; extremely; exceedingly.
You’re pure busy.
verb
- 1
To hit (the ball) completely cleanly and accurately.
Tiger Woods pured his first drive straight down the middle of the fairway.
- 2
obsoleteTo cleanse; to refine.
noun
- 1
One who, or that which, is pure.
- 2
Alternative form of puer (“dung (e.g. of dogs)”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Pure in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does pure come from?
From Middle English pure, pur, from Old French pur, from Latin pūrus (“clean, free from dirt or filth, unmixed, plain”), from Proto-Indo-European *pewH- (“to cleanse, purify”). Displaced native Middle English lutter (“pure, clear, sincere”) (from Old English hlūtor, hluttor), Middle English skere (“pure, sheer, clear”) (from Old English scǣre and Old Norse skǣr), Middle English schir (“clear, pure”) (from Old English scīr), Middle English smete, smeate (“pure, refined”) (from Old English smǣte; compare Old English mǣre (“pure”)).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).