1
as in resolute
fully committed to achieving a goal
a soft-spoken but purposeful criminal investigator
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in deliberate
made, given, or done with full awareness of what one is doing
there's a difference between a purposeful lie and an accidental untruth
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of purposeful
Another creative approach is to transform travel photos and postcards into a gallery wall or a coffee table book, which captures memories in a stylish and purposeful way.
—
Sophie Flaxman, Better Homes & Gardens, 10 June 2026
That’s obviously a purposeful decision.
—Joel Feder, The Drive, 10 June 2026
Toward the end, the purposeful character creates an electronic image of an Earthly waterfall that can be projected outside of the windows of the ship.
—Jenny Odell, Longreads, 2 June 2026
Alongside Robert De Niro, Rosenthal hosted Monday night’s opening reception at the Perelman Performing Arts Center, located on the same block as the World Trade Center — a purposeful nod to Tribeca’s history.
—Anna Tingley, Variety, 2 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for purposeful
Sophie Flaxman, Better Homes & Gardens, 10 June 2026
That’s obviously a purposeful decision.
—Joel Feder, The Drive, 10 June 2026
Toward the end, the purposeful character creates an electronic image of an Earthly waterfall that can be projected outside of the windows of the ship.
—Jenny Odell, Longreads, 2 June 2026
Alongside Robert De Niro, Rosenthal hosted Monday night’s opening reception at the Perelman Performing Arts Center, located on the same block as the World Trade Center — a purposeful nod to Tribeca’s history.
—Anna Tingley, Variety, 2 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for purposeful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for purposeful
Adjective
-
Spielberg has been resolute in his beliefs since before Disclosure Day entered production.—
Wesley Stenzel,
Entertainment Weekly,
10 June 2026
-
As resolute as Tortorella remained afterward, the Hurricanes were confident the decision would turn out in their favor.—
Chris Johnston,
New York Times,
5 June 2026
Adjective
-
Deng has made this a deliberate part of how Poké House grows.—
Rhett Power,
Forbes.com,
14 June 2026
-
Fibermaxxing is the deliberate effort to push daily fiber intake as high as possible — often well beyond what dietary guidelines recommend.—
Ryan Brennan,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
13 June 2026
Adjective
-
Product events are instrumented at meaningful granularity, joined with firmographic and intent data and assembled into an account-level signal layer that downstream systems can act on.—
Varun Milind Kulkarni,
Forbes.com,
12 June 2026
-
Alvarado and Mitchell Robinson then seemed intent on taking matters into their own hands by delivering hard, unnecessary fouls against Wembanyama within the first 14 minutes of Wednesday’s disastrous first half.—
Peter Sblendorio,
New York Daily News,
11 June 2026
Adjective
-
Less a hotel group and more a design-conscious developer interested in sustainable projects.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
12 June 2026
-
The sheriff's office says the child was conscious and alert when he was taken to a hospital for evaluation.—
Christa Swanson,
CBS News,
12 June 2026
Adjective
-
The pound-for-pound star walked through a determined Antonio Vargas en route to a sixth-round, one-punch KO to become a three-division champion on Saturday night in Glendale, Arizona.—
Brian Mazique,
Forbes.com,
14 June 2026
-
Gene Hackman — who developed new shades of menace and gravitas with each passing year — turns in a career-best performance as the determined and obsessive Det.—
Eric Farwell,
Entertainment Weekly,
12 June 2026
Adjective
-
The order directed federal agencies to bolster the government’s cyber defenses and to design a mechanism for the government to gain early access to the most powerful AI models from companies like Anthropic and OpenAI on a voluntary basis.—
Jared Perlo,
NBC news,
13 June 2026
-
Crucially, this is a mandatory licensing action, not the voluntary testing framework the administration rolled out earlier this month.—
Sandy Carter,
Forbes.com,
13 June 2026
Adjective
-
Canada has a chance to take a decisive step toward the knockouts against unfancied Qatar, with all four teams in their group level on 1 point after the Qataris earned a surprise tie with Switzerland.—
Andrew Greif,
NBC news,
19 June 2026
-
Southgate missed the decisive penalty, in 1996, in a match against Germany.—
Jon Allsop,
New Yorker,
18 June 2026
Adjective
-
Crews told them the burn was intentional and that the parkway had been closed for the duration of the operation.—
Sacbee.com,
Sacbee.com,
17 June 2026
-
Racial socialization needs to be an intentional and deliberate process for white parents of Black and Black biracial children.—
Jennifer Rosen Heinz,
Parents,
17 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Purposeful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/purposeful. Accessed 19 Jun. 2026.
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