Definition of "purgatory" []

• Roman Catholic Church A state in which the souls of those who have died in grace must expiate their sins. (noun)
• A place or condition of suffering, expiation, or remorse: a purgatory of drug abuse. (noun)
• Tending to cleanse or purge. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Promoted to Headline (H3) on 4/10/09: Dear President Obama, 3 federal judges say you must act to end 'political purgatory' for 23 million yahooBuzzArticleHeadline = 'Dear President Obama, 3 federal judges say you must act to end \'political purgatory\' for 23 million '; yahooBuzzArticleSummary =' Article: The District of Columbia U.S."
• "I don't think amount of prayerful consideration can save this numbskull from roasting in purgatory from the number of commandments he has broken."
• "Hence some of those who have not this faith have invented another state, after men are gone out of this world, to make them meet for heaven, which they call purgatory; for on what grounds a man should expect an entrance into glory, on his departure out of this world, they understand not."