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Identity & Belief
(n.)
The plight of anyone trying to live ethically, where an imperfect system guarantees that even responsible choices arrive slightly compromised.
She felt an uneasy puregatory while drafting the emissions report on a laptop surely built using conflict minerals.
Does it ring true?
From the future, or already here?
Pure + purgatory, in Catholic theology the realm where people’s sins are cleansed before they are able to enter Heaven; now commonly used to refer to any moment of agonizing limbo. Fitting for an age when transparency has made perfect virtue impossible and total indifference unforgivable.
Future Words: A Non-Obvious Glossary of Terms That Don’t Exist (But Soon Will) collects all 100, each with its example sentence and coinage notes, from the bestselling authors of The Future Normal. Hardcover, October 20, 2026.