Synonyms/Hypernyms (Ordered by Estimated Frequency) of verb purify

3 senses of purify

Sense 1
purify, sublimate, make pure, distill -- (remove impurities from, increase the concentration of, and separate through the process of distillation; "purify the water")
       => better, improve, amend, ameliorate, meliorate -- (to make better; "The editor improved the manuscript with his changes")

Sense 2
purify, purge, sanctify -- (make pure or free from sin or guilt; "he left the monastery purified")
       => change, alter, modify -- (cause to change; make different; cause a transformation; "The advent of the automobile may have altered the growth pattern of the city"; "The discussion has changed my thinking about the issue")

Sense 3
purify -- (become clean or pure or free of guilt and sin; "The hippies came to the ashram in order to purify")
       => change -- (undergo a change; become different in essence; losing one's or its original nature; "She changed completely as she grew older"; "The weather changed last night")

Antonyms of adj purifying

2 of 3 senses of purifying

Sense 2
purifying (vs. adulterating) -- (freeing from noxious matter; "filtration is a purifying agent")

adulterating (vs. purifying), adulterant -- (making impure or corrupt by adding extraneous materials; "the adulterating effect of extraneous materials")
        => extraneous, foreign -- (not belonging to that in which it is contained; introduced from an outside source; "water free of extraneous matter"; "foreign particles in milk")

Sense 3
cleansing, purifying -- (acting like an antiseptic)

INDIRECT (VIA antiseptic) -> septic, infected -- (containing or resulting from disease-causing organisms; "a septic sore throat"; "a septic environment"; "septic sewage")

Similarity of adj purifying

3 senses of purifying

Sense 1
purgatorial, purging, purifying -- (serving to purge or rid of sin; "purgatorial rites")

Sense 2
purifying (vs. adulterating) -- (freeing from noxious matter; "filtration is a purifying agent")
       => ablutionary, cleansing -- (cleansing the body by washing; especially ritual washing of e.g. hands; "ablutionary rituals")
       => antiseptic -- (freeing from error or corruption; "the antiseptic effect of sturdy criticism")
       => detergent, detersive -- (having cleansing power)

Sense 3
cleansing, purifying -- (acting like an antiseptic)
       => antiseptic (vs. septic) -- (thoroughly clean and free of or destructive to disease-causing organisms; "doctors in antiseptic green coats"; "the antiseptic effect of alcohol"; "it is said that marjoram has antiseptic qualities")