purposeful

adjective

pur·​pose·​ful ˈpər-pəs-fəl How to pronounce purposeful (audio)
1
: having a purpose: such as
a
: meaningful
purposeful activities
b
: intentional
purposeful ambiguity
2
: full of determination
was soft-spoken but purposeful
purposefully adverb
purposefulness noun

Examples of purposeful in a Sentence

a soft-spoken but purposeful criminal investigator there's a difference between a purposeful lie and an accidental untruth
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The numbers point to a clean, purposeful striker of the ball, and the underlying profile explains why. Sukhman Singh, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2025 This becomes even more egregious when that failure is purposeful, yet not all attorneys are held equal under the law. Micah Kimball, Denver Post, 16 Oct. 2025 Because there’s no reason the next 20 years can’t be as meaningful and purposeful as the last. Ken Stern, CNBC, 12 Oct. 2025 The goal is to make in-office work genuinely more productive and purposeful. Jason Ma, Fortune, 12 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for purposeful

Word History

First Known Use

1853, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of purposeful was in 1853

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Cite this Entry

“Purposeful.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/purposeful. Accessed 19 Oct. 2025.

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