Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

purple

2 adjective
     
purple2
1 having a dark colour that is a mixture of red and blue
2

purple with rage/purple in the face etc

with a face that is dark red, caused by anger:
His face turned purple with rage.
3

purple patch

a time when you are very successful - used especially in news reports:
Steve's purple patch continued with a second victory on Tuesday.
4

purple prose/passage

AL writing that uses difficult or unusual words - used in order to show disapproval
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.
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