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

Taking out the trash is like administering a purgative to my house.

From Washington Post • Oct. 28, 2019

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

From The New Yorker • Jan. 3, 2017

I knew that my impulsive behavior was sparked by the emotional energy I had just absorbed from Pud’s funeral, and somehow I felt this a necessary finale, or purgative.

From The Guardian • Nov. 9, 2015

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

From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole