Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Purgatory \Pur"ga*to*ry\, a. [L. purgatorius.]
   Tending to cleanse; cleansing; expiatory. --Burke.

Purgatory \Pur"ga*to*ry\, n. [Cf. F. purgatoire.]
   A state or place of purification after death; according to
   the Roman Catholic creed, a place, or a state believed to
   exist after death, in which the souls of persons are purified
   by expiating such offenses committed in this life as do not
   merit eternal damnation, or in which they fully satisfy the
   justice of God for sins that have been forgiven. After this
   purgation from the impurities of sin, the souls are believed
   to be received into heaven.

Source : WordNet®

purgatory
     n 1: a temporary condition of torment or suffering; "a purgatory
          of drug abuse"
     2: (theology) in Roman Catholic theology the place where those
        who have died in a state of grace undergo limited torment
        to expiate their sins