purgatory
noun/ˈpɜːɡətri/
/ˈpɜːrɡətɔːri/
[uncountable]- (usually Purgatory)(in Roman Catholic teaching) a place or state in which the souls of dead people suffer for the bad things they did when they were living, so that they can become pure enough to go to heaven
- (informal, humorous) any place or state in which somebody suffers
- Getting up at four every morning is sheer purgatory.
Word OriginMiddle English: from Anglo-Norman French purgatorie or medieval Latin purgatorium, neuter (used as a noun) of late Latin purgatorius ‘purifying’, from the verb purgare ‘purify’, from purus ‘pure’.
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purgatory