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.

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

From Washington Post • Oct. 28, 2019

Sacrifices come in different hues — purgative, nihilistic — but some of the most memorable involve a greater love in which characters selflessly lay down their lives for others.

From New York Times • Oct. 23, 2018

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

From The New Yorker • Jan. 3, 2017

The Council of Trent, which had been convened in response to the threat posed by Protestantism, had ended only two years previously and the counter-Reformation, with its purgative restatement of Catholic first principles, was underway.

From The Guardian • Feb. 16, 2013

Is there the purgative rhubarb or thyme that cures the long lethargy?

From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein