- (usually Purgatory)
(in Roman Catholic teaching 天主教教义 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 炼狱 - (informal, humorous)
any place or state in which somebody suffers 受难的处所（或状态）；惩戒所；折磨；磨难 Getting up at four every morning is sheer purgatory. 每天早上四点起床简直是炼狱。
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’.