— pureness , n.
/pyoor/ , adj., purer, purest .
1. free from anything of a different, inferior, or contaminating kind; free from extraneous matter: pure gold; pure water.
2. unmodified by an admixture; simple or homogeneous.
3. of unmixed descent or ancestry: a pure breed of dog.
4. free from foreign or inappropriate elements: pure Attic Greek.
5. clear; free from blemishes: pure skin.
6. (of literary style) straightforward; unaffected.
7. abstract or theoretical (opposed to applied ): pure science.
8. without any discordant quality; clear and true: pure tones in music.
9. absolute; utter; sheer: to sing for pure joy.
10. being that and nothing else; mere: a pure accident.
11. clean, spotless, or unsullied: pure hands.
12. untainted with evil; innocent: pure in heart.
13. physically chaste; virgin.
14. ceremonially or ritually clean.
15. free of or without guilt; guiltless.
16. independent of sense or experience: pure knowledge.
17. Biol. , Genetics.
a. homozygous.
b. containing only one characteristic for a trait.
18. Phonet. monophthongal.
[ 1250-1300; ME pur purus clean, unmixed, plain, pure ]
Syn. 1. unmixed, unadulterated, unalloyed, uncontaminated, untainted, unstained, undefiled, untarnished, immaculate, unpolluted, uncorrupted. See clean. 12. modest, virtuous, undefiled.