# purge

> English word · Verb · IPA /pɜːd͡ʒ/ · frequency rank #13,590

## Definitions
1. To clean thoroughly; to rid of impurities; to cleanse.
2. To remove by cleansing; to wash away.
3. To free from sin, guilt, or burden.
4. To evacuate (the bowels or the stomach); to defecate or vomit.
5. To cause someone to purge; to operate (on somebody) using a cathartic or emetic, or in a similar manner.
6. To forcibly remove, for example, from political activity.
7. To forcibly remove people by an organization.
8. To clear of a charge, suspicion, or imputation.
9. To clarify; to clear the dregs from (liquor).
10. To become pure, as by clarification.
11. To have or produce frequent evacuations from the intestines, as by means of a cathartic.
12. To trim, dress, or prune.

## Etymology
From Middle English purgen, from Old French purgier, from Latin pūrgō (“I make pure, I cleanse”), from pūrus (“clean, pure”) + agō (“I make, I do”).

## Easily confused with
- **puri** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/purge-vs-puri)
- **purr** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/purge-vs-purr)
- **pyre** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/purge-vs-pyre)
- **purse** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/purge-vs-purse)
- **purple** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/purge-vs-purple)
- **pursue** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/purge-vs-pursue)
- **pug** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pug-vs-purge)
- **pur** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pur-vs-purge)
- **page** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/page-vs-purge)
- **pure** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pure-vs-purge)
- **Pune** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pune-vs-purge)
- **pore** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pore-vs-purge)
- **puke** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/puke-vs-purge)
- **Puig** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/puig-vs-purge)
- **Pugh** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pugh-vs-purge)
- **pare** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pare-vs-purge)
- **pugs** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pugs-vs-purge)
- **pulse** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pulse-vs-purge)
- **Paige** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/paige-vs-purge)
- **Porte** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/porte-vs-purge)

## Common misspellings (7)
`ppurge`, `pruge`, `pugre`, `pureg`, `purgge`, `purrge`, `uprge`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/purge