Clean vs. Pure — What's the Difference?

Free from dirt, marks, or stains

Having a homogeneous or uniform composition; not mixed

Morally uncontaminated; pure; innocent

Free of dirt, pollutants, infectious agents, or other unwanted elements

Free from irregularities; having a smooth edge or surface

Containing nothing inappropriate or extraneous

(of a taste, sound, or smell) giving a clear and distinctive impression to the senses; sharp and fresh

Complete; utter

So as to be free from dirt, marks, or unwanted matter

Having no moral failing or guilt

Used to emphasize the completeness of a reported action, condition, or experience

Chaste; virgin.

Make clean; remove dirt, marks, or stains from

Of unmixed blood or ancestry.

An act of cleaning something

(Genetics) Produced by self-fertilization or continual inbreeding; homozygous

Free from dirt, stain, or impurities; unsoiled

(Music) Free from discordant qualities

Free from foreign matter or pollution; unadulterated

(Linguistics) Articulated with a single unchanging speech sound; monophthongal

Not infected

Theoretical; not applied

Producing relatively little pollution

(Philosophy) Free of empirical elements

Producing relatively little radioactive fallout or contamination

Free of flaws or imperfections; unsullied.

Having no imperfections or blemishes; regular or even

Free of foreign material or pollutants.

Not ornate or intricate; spare

Free of immoral behavior or qualities; clean.

Sharply defined; clear-cut

Mere; that and that only.

Free from clumsiness; deft; adroit

(of a branch of science) Done for its own sake instead of serving another branch of science.

Devoid of restrictions or encumbrances

(phonetics) Of a single, simple sound or tone; said of some vowels and the unaspirated consonants.

Thorough; complete

(of sound) Without harmonics or overtones; not harsh or discordant.

Having few alterations or corrections; legible

A lot of.

Blank

To a great extent or degree; extremely; exceedingly.

Morally pure; virtuous

(golf) to hit (the ball) completely cleanly and accurately

Having no marks of discredit or offense

To cleanse; to refine.

Fit for all readers, listeners, or audiences; not ribald or obscene

One who, or that which, is pure.

Honest or fair

Alternative form of puer

Not carrying concealed weapons or drugs.

Separate from all heterogeneous or extraneous matter; free from mixture or combination; clean; mere; simple; unmixed; as, pure water; pure clay; pure air; pure compassion.

Innocent of a suspected crime.

Free from moral defilement or quilt; hence, innocent; guileless; chaste; - applied to persons.

Free from narcotics addiction.

Free from that which harms, vitiates, weakens, or pollutes; genuine; real; perfect; - applied to things and actions.

Showing no evidence of using banned or performance-enhancing substances

Ritually clean; fitted for holy services.

So as to be unsoiled

Of a single, simple sound or tone; - said of some vowels and the unaspirated consonants.

In a fair manner

Free of extraneous elements of any kind;

In a clean or nonpolluting manner

Without qualification; used informally as (often pejorative) intensifiers;

(Informal) Entirely; wholly

Concerned with theory and data rather than practice; opposed to applied;

To rid of dirt, rubbish, or impurities

(of color) being chromatically pure; not diluted with white or gray or black

To get rid of (impurities or dirt, for example); remove

Free from discordant qualities

To prepare (fowl or other food) for cooking, as by removing the entrails or fat.

Used of persons or behaviors; having no faults; sinless;

To remove the contents from; empty

In a state of sexual virginity;

(Sports) To lift (a barbell) from the floor to the shoulders in one motion.

Not mixed;

To undergo or perform an act of cleaning.

Free of dirt or impurities or protruberances.

Not dirty.

In an unmarked condition.

(aerodynamics) Allowing an uninterrupted flow over surfaces, without protrusions such as racks or landing gear.

(aviation) Having the undercarriage and flaps in the up position.

Empty.

(of metal) Having relatively few impurities.

Free of immorality or criminality.

Pure, especially morally or religiously.

Not having used drugs or alcohol.

(of criminal, driving, etc. records) Without restrictions or penalties, or someone having such a record.

(informal) Not in possession of weapons or contraband such as drugs.

(informal) Devoid of profanity.

Smooth, exact, and performed well.

(obsolete) Total; utter. still in "clean sweep"

(informal) Cool or neat.

(health) Being free of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).

That does not damage the environment.

Free from that which is useless or injurious; without defects.

Free from restraint or neglect; complete; entire.

Well-proportioned; shapely.

Ascended without falling.

Removal of dirt.

(weightlifting) The first part of the event clean and jerk in which the weight is brought from the ground to the shoulders.

(transitive) To remove dirt from a place or object.

(transitive) To tidy up, make a place neat.

To remove equipment from a climbing route after it was previously lead climbed.

(intransitive) To make things clean in general.

To remove unnecessary files, etc. from (a directory, etc.).

To brush the ice lightly in front of a moving rock to remove any debris and ensure a correct line; less vigorous than a sweep.

To purge a raw of any blemishes caused by the scanning process such as brown tinting and poor color contrast.

(video games) clean up

To remove guts and/or scales of a butchered animal.

Fully and completely.

Free from dirt or filth; as, clean clothes.

Free from that which is useless or injurious; without defects; as, clean land; clean timber.

Free from awkwardness; not bungling; adroit; dexterous; as, a clean trick; a clean leap over a fence.

Free from errors and vulgarisms; as, a clean style.

Free from restraint or neglect; complete; entire.

Free from moral defilement; sinless; pure.

Free from ceremonial defilement.

Free from that which is corrupting to the morals; pure in tone; healthy.

Well-proportioned; shapely; as, clean limbs.

Without limitation or remainder; quite; perfectly; wholly; entirely.

Without miscarriage; not bunglingly; dexterously.

To render clean; to free from whatever is foul, offensive, or extraneous; to purify; to cleanse.

A weightlift in which the barbell is lifted to shoulder height and then jerked overhead

Make clean by removing dirt, filth, or unwanted substances from;

Remove unwanted substances from, such as feathers or pits;

Clean and tidy up the house;

Clean one's body or parts thereof, as by washing;

Be cleanable;

Deprive wholly of money in a gambling game, robbery, etc.;

Remove all contents or possession from, or empty completely;

Remove while making clean;

Remove unwanted substances from

Remove shells or husks from;

Free from dirt or impurities; or having clean habits;

Free of restrictions or qualifications;

(of sound or color) free from anything that dulls or dims;

Free from impurities;

Without difficulties or problems;

Ritually clean or pure

Not spreading pollution or contamination; especially radioactive contamination;

(of behavior or especially language) free from objectionable elements; fit for all observers;

Free from sepsis or infection;

Morally pure;

(of a manuscript) having few alterations or corrections;

Of a surface; not written or printed on;

Marked by or calling for sportsmanship or fair play;

Thorough and without qualification;

(of a record) having no marks of discredit or offense;

Not carrying concealed weapons

Free from clumsiness; precisely or deftly executed;

Free of drugs;

Completely; used as intensifiers;

In conformity with the rules or laws and without fraud or cheating;