pristine
- 01 C1 Advanced
a place that is still in its natural state and has not been damaged by humans.
referring to a natural environment that remains in its original, uncorrupted state.
Simple“We hiked through a pristine forest where no one had built roads yet.”
In context“Environmentalists argue that the pristine wilderness of the Arctic must be protected from industrial exploration at all costs.”
- 02 C2 Proficiency
belonging to the very first or earliest period of something.
pertaining to the earliest or original state of a system or object.
Simple“Scientists are studying the pristine state of the solar system.”
In context“The researcher sought to reconstruct the pristine version of the manuscript before centuries of transcription errors had crept in.”
“Researchers often target pristine locations or regions that have received relatively little scientific sampling.”
“But countries like Senegal and Liberia offer the kind of pristine landscape that many surfers crave.”
From Middle French pristin, borrowed from Latin prīstinus.
From Ancient Greek πρίστις (prístis, “saw, sawfish”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.