1. (n.) A state or place of purification after death\; according to the Roman Catholic creed, a place, or a state believed to exist after death, in which the souls of persons are purified by expiating such offenses committed in this life as do not merit eternal damnation, or in which they fully satisfy the justice of God for sins that have been forgiven. After this purgation from the impurities of sin, the souls are believed to be received into heaven.

2. (a.) Tending to cleanse; cleansing; expiatory.

Abaddon Day of Atonement Gehenna Hades Naraka Pandemonium Sheol Tophet Yom Kippur asceticism avichi bog cage clawing cold purgatorial fires coop cruciation crucifixion enclosure fasting fen flagellation hair shirt hell hell upon earth holocaust horror infernal regions inferno jahannan laceration lancination limbo lower world lustration maceration marsh martyrdom mire morass mortification nether world nightmare passion pen penance penfold penitence penitential act penitential exercise perdition persecution pinfold place of confinement place of torment pound purgation quag quagmire rack repentance sackcloth and ashes shades below slough sump the abyss the bottomless pit the grave the pit torment torture underworld