Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Remaining in a pure state; uncorrupted by civilization.
- adj. Remaining free from dirt or decay; clean: pristine mountain snow.
- adj. Of, relating to, or typical of the earliest time or condition; primitive or original.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Of or belonging to a primitive or early state or period; original; primitive: as, pristine innocence; the pristine manners of a people.
- Synonyms Primitive, etc. See primary.
Wiktionary
- adj. Unspoiled; still with its original purity; uncorrupted or unsullied
- adj. primitive, pertaining to the earliest state of something
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. Belonging to the earliest period or state; original; primitive; primeval.
WordNet 3.0
- adj. immaculately clean and unused
- adj. completely free from dirt or contamination
Etymologies
- Latin prīstinus; see per1 in Indo-European roots.
Examples
“Label condition—Is the label pristine, stained, or “bin soiled”?”
“GOD BLESS YOU!" the priest clad in pristine white vestments shouted as he doused the boat and Vitter three times with water from a plastic oyster tub.”
Gulf oil spill makes blessing of boats a sad task in La. this year
“Enjoy, native cuts in pristine clear clean moutnain water, nothing better ....”
“My point is that decommissioning the orbiters and sending them to a museum in pristine condition seems wasteful.”
“I've seen scientists having their photos taken for publicity shots and I know the photographer often ends up making the setting quite artificial (PI in pristine lab coat holding up a sequencing gel or other film while artfully arranged reagent bottles sparkle in the background seemed to be a popular one), so it's hard to know how representative they are of what these women usually dressed when they were working.”
Depictions of 20th Century Women in Science: The Smithsonian Collection
“But if you have the spare cash and want your figures in pristine condition to display then new figures is the way to go.”
“I read hardcovers with the jacket on -- until I finally get irritated with trying to keep it in pristine condition and then take it off until I'm done!”
“I have no problem lending my books out because I crease pages, fold down pages, eat while eating, so they're not in pristine condition.”
“I always take the jacket off to keep it in pristine conditions!”
“While we are thoroughly enjoying our visit to this idyllic little town, our thoughts go back to the Atlanta airport where, while transferring between terminals, we were surprised by the number of young men and women in pristine, desert-camouflage uniforms who were walking purposefully through the concourses or riding trams towards the gates and to the aircraft that would eventually take them back to Afghanistan.”
The Huffington Post: Dorian de Wind: One Constancy of War: The Youth of Those Who Fight and Die
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘pristine’.
-
GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4084 more...
-
select words
luminous, radiant, malicious, zeal, ojalá, voluptuary, rubbish, purlicue, consarnit, upstart, precis, robinsonade and 66 more...
-
Words beginning with P
peripatetic, pearlescent, perfunctory, palliate, permafrost, prosthetic, pliant, pluvious, percussion, procrastinate, progeria, prognathism and 49 more...
-
Virgins
All and any to do with those precious hymenated...
sacrifice, altar, white, cherry, lily, pure, angelic, innocent, vestal, unicorn, undefiled, pristine and 8 more...
-
Shopping From Home (For Words)
The list begins with evocative words I found in a Bed Bath & Beyond catalog, but other words in a similar vein are welcome, with two simple rules: they must come out of catalogs, and they can't...
sconce, mercer, urn, crock, pique, taffeta, chenille, ensemble, crescent, flocked, stockpot, microfiber and 40 more...
iangilman As seen in a Cracked's 9 Words That Don't Mean What You Think. Nov 26, 2007