purging
nounEtymology From Middle English purgynge; equivalent to purge + -ing.
8 senses
- 1A removal of undesirable people.
- 2The cleansing of a device by flushing it with water…
- 3The removal of excess humors through bloodletting…
- 4The removal of digested waste: defecation; defecation…
- 5Vomiting; vomiting induced by purgatives.
- 6That which is purged: contamination, a contaminant…
- 7Synonym of purgation: the act or an instance of removing…
- 8The process in which acne temporarily worsened due to…
› The act or an instance of eliminating…
Government, Politics A removal of undesirable people.
Chemistry, Natural sciences, Physical sciences The cleansing of a device by flushing it with water, steam, or some other liquid or gas.
› The removal of waste from the human body
The removal of excess humors through bloodletting, induced vomiting, etc.
Premodern medicine
Medicine, Sciences The removal of digested waste: defecation; defecation induced by laxatives.
Medicine, Sciences Vomiting; vomiting induced by purgatives.
- He had violent pains in his belly, and purgings...1849, The Journal of Health and Disease, page 98:
Dermatology, Medicine, Sciences The process in which acne temporarily worsened due to the introduction of skincare products that increase cell turnover, bringing underlying acne to the surface more quickly.
- Skin purging looks a lot like acne, but they are not the same. Skin purging may have many of the skin issues of acne, but it’s the storm before the calm, versus the other way around.2025 May 6, Michele Jordan, “Skin Purging: Causes, Signs, and Treatment”, in webmd.com, archived from the original on 10 Mar 2026:
- Synonyms
- purge, witchhunt, defecation, vomiting and Thesaurus:regurgitate, blood, sin, vomit, and Thesaurus:feces
- Derived terms
- purging cassia, purging nut, purging place