purgative

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Theater makes much of the element of catharsis, but rarely is a show purgative all the way through, as the choreopoem “Queens of Sheba” is.

From New York Times • Jan. 12, 2024

The juxtaposition of such a technologically enabled act — I recorded, therefore I was — and the most basic and purgative of elements invites irony where it is least wanted.

From Washington Post • Nov. 16, 2018

And this, too, felt like a purgative end to 2016.

From The New Yorker • Jan. 3, 2017

Teddy Roosevelt also glorified war for its own sake, treating it as a refreshing purgative to enliven the spirit and a country’s greatness.

From Slate • Sep. 12, 2014

As if the' air w'ere a purgative, his valve opened.

From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole