Pure vs. True: What's the Difference?
Edited by Harlon Moss || By Janet White || Updated on October 7, 2023
Pure refers to being free from contaminants or unadulterated, while true pertains to conformity with fact or reality, having accurate existence. They relate to different concepts: purity is about untainted essence, and truth is about veracity.
Key Differences
Pure, in its essence, frequently refers to something that is free of any contaminants or adulterants, maintaining its original, unblemished state. In stark contrast, true does not reference physical characteristics or states but refers to the veracity or accuracy of a statement, concept, or belief.
Pure conveys a sense of cleanliness, sterility, or chastity, implying that something is preserved in its original state without any tarnish or corruption. True, however, often bears a moral or factual connotation, indicating correctness, accuracy, or reliability without necessarily indicating a preservation of originality or absence of corruption.
Pure typically implies an absence of undesirable elements or qualities and is especially prevalent in describing physical substances or moral virtue. Whereas true, which also may be utilized to describe physical direction or alignment, often delves into realms of honesty, faithfulness, and accuracy in relation to facts or authenticity.
Pure is often affiliated with moral and ethical qualities, signifying a kind of virtuousness and innocence unmarred by immoral elements. In contrast, true may be applied to situations or things, illustrating accuracy or authenticity, but can also describe faithfulness, as in a relationship, without implicating moral virtuousness or ethicality.
Pure, when used in a non-physical context, can describe an intense or unmixed emotion, such as pure joy, indicating a singular, unblended feeling. True does not emphasize singularity or intensity of emotion but prioritizes validity, reliability, and accuracy when used in a non-physical context, offering a stark difference in contextual usage.
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Comparison Chart
Connotative Focus
Cleanliness, unadulterated, unmixed
Veracity, accuracy, faithfulness
Moral/Ethical Implication
Often implies moral intactness
Primarily about factuality, can imply faithfulness
Emotional Context
Can imply singular, intense emotion
Does not denote emotional intensity
Typical Usage
Mostly describes physical substances or moral states
Can describe accuracy, authenticity, or alignment
Nature of Concept
Pertains to a state of being, physical or moral
Pertains to adherence to fact or authenticity
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Pure and True Definitions
Pure
Unmixed
The pure gold was incredibly valuable.
True
Accurate
The statement was found to be true.
Pure
Complete
He felt a moment of pure bliss.
True
Consistent with fact or reality; not false or erroneous
The true cost.
Pure
Genuine
Her pure intention was evident to all.
True
Not counterfeit; real or genuine
True gold.
Pure
Having a homogeneous or uniform composition; not mixed
Pure oxygen.
True
Conforming to the characteristics or criteria of a group or type; typical
A true crab.
A true gentleman.
Pure
Free of dirt, pollutants, infectious agents, or other unwanted elements
Pure water.
True
Properly called
True value.
Pure
Containing nothing inappropriate or extraneous
A pure style of piano playing.
True
Reliable; accurate
A true prophecy.
Pure
Complete; utter
Pure folly.
True
Faithful, as to a friend, vow, or cause; loyal.
Pure
Having no moral failing or guilt
"I felt pure and sweet as a new baby" (Sylvia Plath).
True
(Archaic) Truthful, honest, or trustworthy.
Pure
Chaste; virgin.
True
Sincerely felt or expressed; unfeigned
True grief.
Pure
Of unmixed blood or ancestry.
True
Rightful; legitimate
The true heir.
Pure
(Genetics) Produced by self-fertilization or continual inbreeding; homozygous
A pure line.
True
Exactly conforming to a rule, standard, or pattern
Trying to sing true B.
Pure
(Music) Free from discordant qualities
Pure tones.
True
Accurately shaped, fitted, or placed
Are the wheels true?.
Pure
(Linguistics) Articulated with a single unchanging speech sound; monophthongal
A pure vowel.
True
Determined with reference to the earth's axis, not the magnetic poles
True north.
Pure
Theoretical; not applied
Pure science.
True
Quick and exact in sensing and responding
A true ear.
Pure
(Philosophy) Free of empirical elements
Pure reason.
True
(Computers) Indicating one of two possible values taken by a variable in Boolean logic or a binary device.
Pure
Free of flaws or imperfections; unsullied.
True
In accord with reality, fact, or truthfulness.
Pure
Free of foreign material or pollutants.
True
Unswervingly; exactly
The archer aimed true.
Pure
Free of immoral behavior or qualities; clean.
True
So as to conform to a type, standard, or pattern.
Pure
Mere; that and that only.
That idea is pure madness!
True
To position (something) so as to make it balanced, level, or square
Trued up the long planks.
Pure
(of a branch of science) Done for its own sake instead of serving another branch of science.
True
Truth or reality. Used with the.
Pure
(phonetics) Of a single, simple sound or tone; said of some vowels and the unaspirated consonants.
True
Proper alignment or adjustment
Out of true.
Pure
(of sound) Without harmonics or overtones; not harsh or discordant.
True
(of a statement) Conforming to the actual state of reality or fact; factually correct.
This is a true story.
Pure
A lot of.
True
As an ellipsis of "(while) it is true (that)", used to start a sentence
True, I have only read part of the book, but I like it so far.
Pure
To a great extent or degree; extremely; exceedingly.
You’re pure busy.
True
Conforming to a rule or pattern; exact; accurate.
A true copy;
A true likeness of the original
Pure
(golf) to hit (the ball) completely cleanly and accurately
Tiger Woods pured his first drive straight down the middle of the fairway.
True
(logic) Of the state in Boolean logic that indicates an affirmative or positive result.
"A and B" is true if and only if "A" is true and "B" is true.
Pure
To cleanse; to refine.
True
Loyal, faithful.
He’s turned out to be a true friend.
Pure
One who, or that which, is pure.
True
Genuine; legitimate, valid.
This is true Parmesan cheese.
The true king has returned!
Pure
Alternative form of puer
True
Used in the designation of group of species, or sometimes a single species, to indicate that it belongs to the clade its common name (which may be more broadly scoped in common speech) is restricted to in technical speech, or to distinguish it from a similar species, the latter of which may be called false.
True spiders
Pure
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.
The pure fetters on his shins great.
A guinea is pure gold if it has in it no alloy.
True
Accurate; following a path toward the target.
Pure
Free from moral defilement or quilt; hence, innocent; guileless; chaste; - applied to persons.
Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience.
True
(of a mechanical part) Correctly aligned or calibrated, without deviation.
Is my bike wheel true? It feels unsteady.
Pure
Free from that which harms, vitiates, weakens, or pollutes; genuine; real; perfect; - applied to things and actions.
Such was the origin of a friendship as warm and pure as any that ancient or modern history records.
True
Fair, unbiased, not loaded.
Pure
Ritually clean; fitted for holy services.
Thou shalt set them in two rows, six on a row, upon the pure table before the Lord.
True
(of a literary genre) based on actual historical events.
Pure
Of a single, simple sound or tone; - said of some vowels and the unaspirated consonants.
True
(of shooting, throwing etc) Accurately.
This gun shoots true.
Pure
Free of extraneous elements of any kind;
Pure air and water
Pure gold
Pure primary colors
The violin's pure and lovely song
Pure tones
True
(archaic) Truthfully.
Pure
Without qualification; used informally as (often pejorative) intensifiers;
An arrant fool
A complete coward
A consummate fool
A double-dyed villain
Gross negligence
A perfect idiot
Pure folly
What a sodding mess
Stark staring mad
A thoroughgoing villain
Utter nonsense
True
(uncountable) The state of being in alignment.
Pure
Concerned with theory and data rather than practice; opposed to applied;
Pure science
True
Truth.
Pure
(of color) being chromatically pure; not diluted with white or gray or black
True
A pledge or truce.
Pure
Free from discordant qualities
True
To straighten (of something that is supposed to be straight).
He trued the spokes of the bicycle wheel.
Pure
Used of persons or behaviors; having no faults; sinless;
I felt pure and sweet as a new baby
Pure as the driven snow
True
To make even, level, symmetrical, or accurate, align; adjust.
We spent all night truing up the report.
Pure
In a state of sexual virginity;
Pure and vestal modesty
A spinster or virgin lady
Men have decreed that their women must be pure and virginal
True
Conformable to fact; in accordance with the actual state of things; correct; not false, erroneous, inaccurate, or the like; as, a true relation or narration; a true history; a declaration is true when it states the facts.
Pure
Not mixed;
Pure oxygen
True
Right to precision; conformable to a rule or pattern; exact; accurate; as, a true copy; a true likeness of the original.
Making his eye, foot, and hand keep true time.
Pure
Uncontaminated
Pure water is crucial for health.
True
Steady in adhering to friends, to promises, to a prince, or the like; unwavering; faithful; loyal; not false, fickle, or perfidious; as, a true friend; a wife true to her husband; an officer true to his charge.
Thy so true,So faithful, love unequaled.
Dare to be true: nothing can need a lie.
Pure
Innocent
Her smile was pure and heartwarming.
True
Actual; not counterfeit, adulterated, or pretended; genuine; pure; real; as, true balsam; true love of country; a true Christian.
The true light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
True ease in writing comes from art, not chance.
True
Genuine; real; not deviating from the essential characters of a class; as, a lizard is a true reptile; a whale is a true, but not a typical, mammal.
True
In accordance with truth; truly.
True
Proper alignment; the property possessed by something that is in correct or proper alignment;
Out of true
True
Make level, square, balanced, or concentric;
True up the cylinder of an engine
True
Consistent with fact or reality; not false;
The story is true
It is undesirable to believe a proposition when there is no ground whatever for supposing it true
The true meaning of the statement
True
Not synthetic or spurious; of real or natural origin;
Real mink
True gold
True
Conforming to definitive criteria;
The horseshoe crab is not a true crab
Pythagoras was the first true mathematician
True
Accurately placed or thrown;
His aim was true
He was dead on target
True
Devoted (sometimes fanatically) to a cause or concept or truth;
True believers bonded together against all who disagreed with them
True
Expressing or given to expressing the truth;
A true statement
Gave truthful testimony
A truthful person
True
Worthy of being depended on;
A dependable worker
An honest working stiff
A reliable source of information
He was true to his word
I would be true for there are those who trust me
True
Not pretended; sincerely felt or expressed;
Genuine emotion
Her interest in people was unfeigned
True grief
True
Rightly so called;
True courage
A spirit which true men have always admired
A true friend
True
Determined with reference to the earth's axis rather than the magnetic poles;
True north is geographic north
True
Having a legally established claim;
The legitimate heir
The true and lawful king
True
In tune; accurate in pitch;
A true note
True
Accurately fitted; level;
The window frame isn't quite true
True
Reliable as a basis for action;
A true prophesy
True
As acknowledged;
True, she is the smartest in her class
True
Loyal
He remained a true friend through challenges.
True
Real
His true identity was a secret.
True
Conforming to Fact
It was a true representation of events.
True
Straight
The arrow flew true to its target.
FAQs
Can pure be used to describe colors?
Yes, e.g., pure white means unadulterated white.
Does pure always refer to substances?
No, it can also refer to intangible things like emotions or intentions.
Does pure refer to truth?
Not typically, it generally indicates freedom from contaminants or adulterants.
Can pure describe a personality?
Yes, indicating innocence or moral clarity.
Can something be true yet not pure?
Yes, an accurate statement (true) need not be morally pure.
Does true always imply honesty?
Not always, it can also indicate accuracy or alignment.
Can true be used to describe physical accuracy?
Yes, e.g., a surface can be true (aligned and level).
Can true describe emotions?
Yes, indicating genuineness, e.g., true love.
Can something be pure but not true?
Yes, something can be pure (unmixed) but factually incorrect (not true).
Can pure refer to high quality?
Yes, such as pure gold indicating high quality/unmixed.
Can pure describe emotions?
Yes, e.g., pure joy indicates an unmixed, intense emotion.
Can purity be physical and moral?
Yes, pure can describe a substance or moral state.
Can truthfulness be described using true?
Yes, truthfulness is often described as being true.
Does true mean pure?
No, true primarily relates to veracity or accuracy.
Can true imply reliability?
Yes, something or someone reliable may be described as true.
Can true describe a pathway?
Yes, indicating it's straight or directly aligned.
Does true refer to morality?
Not directly, it’s more about factuality or faithfulness.
Can pure imply sincerity?
Yes, e.g., pure intentions mean sincere, unadulterated motives.
Is pure synonymous with innocent?
In some contexts, yes, describing moral purity or naivety.
Is true synonymous with correct?
Often yes, especially regarding factual accuracy.
About Author
Written by
Janet WhiteJanet White has been an esteemed writer and blogger for Difference Wiki. Holding a Master's degree in Science and Medical Journalism from the prestigious Boston University, she has consistently demonstrated her expertise and passion for her field. When she's not immersed in her work, Janet relishes her time exercising, delving into a good book, and cherishing moments with friends and family.
Edited by
Harlon MossHarlon is a seasoned quality moderator and accomplished content writer for Difference Wiki. An alumnus of the prestigious University of California, he earned his degree in Computer Science. Leveraging his academic background, Harlon brings a meticulous and informed perspective to his work, ensuring content accuracy and excellence.
