**Purgatory is very controversial, so there isn't one set definition of what it is.

Other Definitions

-a state of the final stage of purification that began on Earth
-the idea that there is a place you can go to purify yourself of your sins before you can enter heaven
-the final purification of the elect, which is entirely different from the punishment in Hell
-the final stage of purification that is God's final work on our soul through His sanctifying grace