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GRE vocabulary

pristine

adjectiveHigh-frequency wordMore P words

in its original, unspoiled, and pure condition

Word origin: From Latin pristinus, former or original.

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In a sentence

Pristine in a sentence

Here are example sentences showing pristine in a sentence.

The remote valley remained pristine, untouched by development.

The cave's pristine paintings had been sealed from the air for millennia.

Synonyms
immaculatespotlessuntouchedunspoiled
Antonyms
sulliedtaintedspoiled

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Verbal · Sentence Equivalence

Far from being the revolutionary thinker his admirers claimed, the philosopher was in fact quite blank, defending the traditional doctrines of his teachers without challenge.

Select the two answers that give the sentence the same meaning. 0 of 2 selected.

Usage & nuance

Using “pristine” well

Pristine means either spotlessly clean or unchanged from an original state; context decides which. It implies that nothing has spoiled the subject.

Common questions

Questions about “pristine”

Pristine (adjective) means in its original, unspoiled, and pure condition
Here is pristine used in an example sentence: "The remote valley remained pristine, untouched by development." Another example: "The cave's pristine paintings had been sealed from the air for millennia."
Common synonyms for pristine include immaculate, spotless, untouched, unspoiled.
Antonyms of pristine include sullied, tainted, spoiled.
On the GRE, pristine clusters with immaculate, spotless, untouched, and unspoiled, opposing sullied, tainted, and spoiled.
Yes. Pristine is a high-frequency GRE word, so it is worth prioritising as you build your vocabulary.

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