I. (ˈ)im, əm+ adjective
Etymology: French & Latin; French, from Latin impurus, from in- in- (I) + purus pure — more at pure
1. : not pure: as
a. : unchaste , lewd , obscene
impure language
given to impure ideas
b. : containing something unclean : dirty , foul , filthy , unwholesome
impure water
impure air
c. : unclean for ceremonial or religious purposes or not purified or hallowed by rites : defiled, unholy , unhallowed
d. : not accurate : not idiomatic
impure Latin
: marked by an intermixture of foreign elements
an impure dialect
or by substandard, incongruous, or objectionable locutions
an impure style
e. : mixed or impregnated with an extraneous especially inferior substance : adulterated, unrectified
an impure chemical
impure food
an impure diamond
f. of art or decoration : mixed , bastard
an impure style of ornamentation
g. : designed to serve a purpose chiefly other than artistic — used of art or an art form (as a poem or painting)
there is impure poetry, social and political poetry — Jacob Isaacs
2. : heterozygous
• im·purely “+ adverb
• im·pureness “+ noun
II. transitive verb
obsolete : to make impure