1
as in polluted
containing foreign or lower-grade substances
be careful, because impure motor oil can damage your car's engine
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in vulgar
depicting or referring to sexual matters in a way that is unacceptable in polite society
Victorian notions of what qualified as impure art now strike us as laughable
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of impure
France has Europe’s largest population of Muslims, over 6 million, for whom pigs are considered impure.
—
Reuters, CNN Money, 9 Sep. 2025
Curtain calls In 1900, more than 6,000 people in England were poisoned by beer that had been brewed using impure sulfuric acid containing arsenic.
—Scott Lafee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 Sep. 2025
This method combines impure raw silicon with pure aluminum, lowering the melting temperature compared to conventional polysilicon production.
—Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 12 Aug. 2025
The trash is heated to break it into crude, impure syngas, which is then zapped with plasma torches to further refine it.
—IEEE Spectrum, 22 Nov. 2011
See All Example Sentences for impure
Reuters, CNN Money, 9 Sep. 2025
Curtain calls In 1900, more than 6,000 people in England were poisoned by beer that had been brewed using impure sulfuric acid containing arsenic.
—Scott Lafee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 Sep. 2025
This method combines impure raw silicon with pure aluminum, lowering the melting temperature compared to conventional polysilicon production.
—Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 12 Aug. 2025
The trash is heated to break it into crude, impure syngas, which is then zapped with plasma torches to further refine it.
—IEEE Spectrum, 22 Nov. 2011
See All Example Sentences for impure
Recent Examples of Synonyms for impure
Adjective
-
But many of the communities where those minerals are mined end up with polluted water and poorer health because of the mining.—
Abraham Nunbogu,
Fortune,
29 Apr. 2026
-
As Mexico City has expanded over time, the Xochimilco lake system has gradually shrunk and become more polluted in certain areas, which has led to a steep decline in their population.—
Samantha Agate,
Miami Herald,
28 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
The word was considered so vulgar that it was left out of early dictionaries and was rarely printed, though Adams says people were certainly using it.—
Harmeet Kaur,
CNN Money,
8 Apr. 2026
-
One day, Dahlstrom made a vulgar joke in a lunchroom referencing oral sex and pubic hair, according to the employee.—
Nick Ferraro,
Twin Cities,
4 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
These risks are linked to prolonged contact with contaminated water, compounded by limited access to sanitation and healthcare.—
Abraham Nunbogu,
Fortune,
29 Apr. 2026
-
Another method involves covering contaminated areas with clean soil, clay or concrete.—
Eduardo B. Farfán,
The Conversation,
21 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
For instance, the ruling recognized that the government’s need to protect national security might require it to prevent publication of the number and location of troops and that the primary requirements of decency might require censorship of obscene publications.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
29 Apr. 2026
-
Bounds said this gives the mayor the power to intervene when a member of the public engages in obscene speech or in speech intended to incite others in the room.—
Matthew Adams,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
29 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Second, a dilute hydrochloric acid is used to dissolve the remaining lithium and the transition metals—nickel, cobalt, and manganese.—
Aman Tripathi,
Interesting Engineering,
12 Oct. 2025
-
For example, Wilson’s team is exploring whether dilute acids speed up weathering.—
Robert F. Service,
Science | AAAS,
3 Sep. 2020
Adjective
-
Swift’s likeness has been used without permission in numerous AI fakes, including by Meta’s AI chatbots and in pornographic images that have circulated on the internet.—
Todd Spangler,
Variety,
27 Apr. 2026
-
This material included thousands of pornographic deepfakes that Kamnik had generated using AI tools.—
Nate Anderson,
ArsTechnica,
9 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Net income is $807 million, or 43 cents per diluted share.—
Glenn Taylor,
Footwear News,
24 Apr. 2026
-
The device pulls in a lot of air to capture the very diluted CO2.—
Molly McCrea,
CBS News,
24 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
After neighbors in October 2023 reported foul odors from the Penrose funeral home, officials arrested the couple in November 2023, in Oklahoma.—
Eduardo Cuevas,
USA Today,
25 Apr. 2026
-
An investigation into the funeral home began in October 2023 when neighbors reported a foul odor to the Fremont County Sheriff's Office.—
Brian Sherrod,
CBS News,
24 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Impure.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/impure. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
