PURPOSEFULLY Synonyms: 95 Similar and Opposite Words

purposefully

adverb

as in intentionally

with full awareness of what one is doing he purposefully chose the more difficult route to the mountain summit

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in hard

with great effort or determination strode purposefully into the boss's office, determined to ask for a raise

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.

Recent Examples of purposefully This individual asset is often referred to as zest, and it can be purposefully developed to assist us in managing daily stressors as well as creating meaningful lives. — Joan M. Cook, Time, 17 Oct. 2026 However, Rob Shuter is reporting that Meghan believes Kate purposefully humiliated her by recently taking Princess Charlotte on the London Underground. — Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 15 Oct. 2026 Maybe the Brewers have instructed their hitters to purposefully hit the ball poorly, while the Dodgers hitting staff keeps telling Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts, and Shohei Ohtani to hit the ball hard directly at Milwaukee defensive players. — Ian Miller Outkick, FOXNews.com, 15 Oct. 2026 Just as infinite intelligence guides migrating birds, divine Mind purposefully guides us, too. — The Christian Science Monitor, Christian Science Monitor, 15 Oct. 2026 Rather than slicking the head in hair gel, Magallones purposefully keeps the product use to a minimum, allowing for natural curls to come through on top of the head. — Kaleigh Werner, Footwear News, 13 Oct. 2026 His loneliness is somewhat mitigated by the other sentient AIs he’s uploaded to his mindspace, envisioned by creator Terry Matalas (Syfy’s 12 Monkeys) as a big white house on a purposefully digital green lawn. — Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 12 Oct. 2026 Those in opposition claim the ambiguous language was used purposefully. — Tara Molina, CBS News, 7 Oct. 2026 Andie is a creature of pure ambition and nearly blank morality, a sweatshirt-wearing, 2000s-era daughter of Lady Macbeth and Faye Dunaway in Network, though Wever purposefully didn’t revisit that film to keep her own performance distinct. — Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 24 Sep. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for purposefully

Adverb

The center’s name intentionally evokes both scale and possibility.

— Sarah Belmont for ArtNews, Robb Report, 14 Oct. 2026
The commission would have to hold three public hearings and could not make changes that intentionally favor a political party or unnecessarily divide communities.

— Shaun Boyd, CBS News, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of intentionally

Adverb

Tri Ocean’s customer base remains predominantly Vietnamese and Chinese, but the store increasingly attracts non-Asian shoppers searching for fresh seafood, tropical produce and hard-to-find specialty items, like authentic pho ingredients.

— Sara Rosenthal, Denver Post, 11 Oct. 2026
By Saturday night, Long Beach reported that seawater had entered homes and into streets, with the city’s Peninsula neighborhood being hard hit, and its boardwalk crumbling.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 11 Oct. 2026

Definition of hard

Adverb

God seems deliberately to have created variety and cognitive function in the human species.

— Letters to the Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 14 Oct. 2026
Investigators were trying to determine Wednesday whether the robot's actions were deliberately controlled by two young men who apparently livestreamed the incident in the western city of Cologne on social media.

— October 14, CBS News, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of deliberately

Adverb

Newsom, by contrast, may need to begin campaigning intensively after leaving office rather than wait for Harris’s decision.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 30 Sep. 2026
The pork producers group has also intensively lobbied for legislation called the Save Our Bacon Act, which would overturn the state laws.

— Kenny Torrella, Vox, 9 Sep. 2026

Definition of intensively

Adverb

It was purposely drawn by the state’s independent redistricting commission to be the most competitive in Colorado — and the most heavily Latino.

— John Aguilar, Denver Post, 7 Oct. 2026
It was covered in ash, as if it had been washed, dried, then purposely covered in soot.

— Alex Gurley, PEOPLE, 19 Sep. 2026

Definition of purposely

Adverb

Organizations like the American Library Association have diligently kept track of banning efforts.

— Naveen Basavaraj, The Conversation, 5 Oct. 2026
On that day, Skoloda, Pasek, and others had diligently practiced constructing the Norwegian reeve, along with other rigging arrangements.

— Peter Hessler, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2026

Definition of diligently

Adverb

Coordinating all of his department heads and units in prep allowed Vanselow to focus more intensely on performance during the actual shoot, which paid off not only in terms of Neeson’s work but that of the supporting cast.

— Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 14 Oct. 2026
Zaid’s home is bombed in one intensely melodramatic sequence that culminates in a slow zoom over Zaid cradling his dead wife and child.

— Beatrice Loayza, Variety, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of intensely

Adverb

The group listens intently as a symphony of airplanes, freeway traffic and the ploop!

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 5 Oct. 2026
Acuña was tended to for several minutes by the Braves trainer, with Weiss looking on intently, before heading straight to the home clubhouse.

— ABC News, ABC News, 22 Sep. 2026

Definition of intently

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purposeful

purposefully

purposefulness

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“Purposefully.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/purposefully. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of purposefully

adverb

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