(theology) in Roman Catholic theology the place where those who have died in a state of grace undergo limited torment to expiate their sins
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Purgatory \Pur"ga*to*ry\, a. [L. purgatorius.] Tending to cleanse; cleansing; expiatory. --Burke.
Purgatory \Pur"ga*to*ry\, n. [Cf. F. purgatoire.] 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.
But overall, he adds: "We're kind of in purgatory here as far as the economy goes."
A serious risk exists that the radical threat the Greeks say they fear could become a self-fulfilling prophecy if Macedonia is sentenced indefinitely to purgatory,' says one diplomat.
It leaves him in the unenviable spot of being in television purgatory.
"Our middle-aged generation who walked away from the Cultural Revolution purgatory still can painfully and clearly remember the lawlessness and turmoil of those 10 years," they wrote.
The concepts of angels and purgatory blend easily with the deep-rooted traditional beliefs.
"I had an amendment and I find it is not even on the purgatory list," he said.
Well, yes and no; more a kind of purgatory, with a deep dread that things might get worse.
He has some explaining to do. A special place in purgatory is reserved for Viktor Komplektov, the Soviet ambassador to the U.S., who toadied for the Gang of Eight to State and the White House on Monday.
This town may be a gambler's heaven, but it is a dancer's purgatory.
Much of the text may be lost on foreigners, but a Scottish audience hugely enjoyed the wit and vitality in Gerry Mulgrew's production. The Fringe, like the Festival, makes no critical sense - one person's pleasure is another's purgatory.
Public life has been purgatory for this proud and ambitious man; his wounds, some of them self-inflicted, are still healing.
Federated emerged, largely intact, from corporate purgatory in early-1992.
They become garden statues when Romeo first climbs the balcony, and they are waifs in purgatory welcoming Mercutio the grave man. Action and reaction happen physically, viscerally.