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puro

pure

adjective POO-roh Less Common
Descriptions & Qualities Quality

Origin: Latin purus, 'clean, uncontaminated'

Also means

sheer

Usage Note

Puro means 'pure' in both a physical sense (acqua pura — pure water) and an abstract one (pura follia — sheer madness). Placed before the noun it intensifies meaning ('sheer, utter'); after the noun it means 'pure/uncontaminated'. Do not confuse with pulito (clean), which refers to cleanliness rather than purity of composition or nature.

Examples

"Questo è oro puro al novantanove per cento."

Natural Translation

This is gold that is ninety-nine percent pure.

Literal Translation

This is gold pure at ninety-nine percent.

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