purposefully

adverb

1
as in intentionally
with full awareness of what one is doing he purposefully chose the more difficult route to the mountain summit

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in hard
with great effort or determination strode purposefully into the boss's office, determined to ask for a raise

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 That is inaccurate, not what the investigation covers, and viral posts on X are misleading people either through incompetence or purposefully misleading information. — Ian Miller Outkick, FOXNews.com, 21 Aug. 2026 Although the bars are not related, all three arrived on the scene under purposefully mysterious circumstances. — Henri Hollis, AJC.com, 20 Aug. 2026 If the initial prototype saved months of development work, then purposefully invest those resources into the next phase to build secure infrastructure and optimize database operations. — Ihor Hamal, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2026 But critics argue that many of these ads are purposefully created to be deceptive — especially deepfakes that seek to use someone else’s likeness and put words in their mouth. — Grace Hase, Mercury News, 14 Aug. 2026 There were people working on this project purposefully to work through some of their own stuff. — Anne Thompson, IndieWire, 13 Aug. 2026 It is kept purposefully dark to recreate the dark conditions of the deep ocean, which has zero sunlight. — Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 13 Aug. 2026 The beloved character files a claim that the Acme corporation — the fictional company that sells the faulty products prominently seen in Looney Tunes cartoons — is purposefully selling bad products to Coyote in his efforts to catch Roadrunner. — Tommy McArdle, PEOPLE, 13 Aug. 2026 Rumors swirled among the Americans that the Turks were purposefully sabotaging machinery — or perhaps even engaged in some convoluted form of espionage. — Jesse Coburn, ProPublica, 12 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for purposefully
  1. intentionally
  2. hard
  3. deliberately
  4. intensively
  5. purposely
  6. diligently
  7. intensely
  8. intently
Adverb
  • California was among dozens of states that sued Meta in 2023, alleging in a lawsuit that the social media giant intentionally designed harmful and addictive features to hook children while misleading the public about the dangers.
    — Sonja Sharp, Los Angeles Times, 26 Aug. 2026
  • The payout is part of a massive multistate settlement resolving claims that Meta intentionally designed its products to be addictive and knowingly exposed young people to mental harm.
    — Sarah Cutler, Idaho Statesman, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of intentionally
Adverb
  • The Heat are hard-capped at the NBA first luxury-tax apron due to the machinations required to trade last month for Milwaukee Bucks forwards Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis.
    — Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 24 Aug. 2026
  • Gotham midfielder Rose Lavelle landed hard with the back of her head hitting the ground in the 31st minute.
    — Phuoc Nguyen, Chicago Tribune, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of hard
Adverb
  • Havenith said deliberately wetting clothing can provide evaporative cooling, including for older adults who may not sweat as effectively.
    — Aya Diab, Los Angeles Times, 26 Aug. 2026
  • Meta Platforms — The Instagram and Facebook owner jumped 3% after the company and state attorneys general reached a settlement in a case that claimed Meta deliberately made its applications addictive for teenagers.
    — Davis Giangiulio, CNBC, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of deliberately
Adverb
  • Owning several cars, intensively studying both the new and used car markets and testing so many vehicles has taught me a lot about what makes a great automobile.
    — Charles Singh, USA Today, 21 Aug. 2026
  • The team tested intensively with real drivers in multiple countries.
    — Steve Denning, Forbes.com, 9 Aug. 2026
Definition of intensively
Adverb
  • The museum in the book is a purposely generic version of a recognizable major art museum like the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
    — Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 24 Aug. 2026
  • The company first disclosed in July that during a cybersecurity exam, a combination of its AI agents with internal safeguards purposely lowered escaped their testing environment through a previously unknown bug.
    — Hadas Gold, CNN Money, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of purposely
Adverb
  • This person started out diligently highlighting and taking notes.
    — Helen I. Bennett, Hartford Courant, 25 Aug. 2026
  • From 1908 until his death in 1947, he was largely confined to the property’s main home under specialized psychiatric care, while Katherine lived elsewhere, diligently funding research to find a cure.
    — Wendy Bowman, Robb Report, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of diligently
Adverb
  • The plantation economy that developed in the American South institutionalized an intensely extractive relationship with the land.
    — The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 26 Aug. 2026
  • These two exceedingly nimble keyboardists teamed for a rousing take on Polish composer Witold Lutoslawski’s intensely spirited Variations on a Theme of Paganini.
    — George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Aug. 2026
Definition of intensely
Adverb
  • The jury was listening intently and looking at the screen as the story of the shooting unfolded, more engaged after already listening to hours of the recording.
    — Taylor Romine, CNN Money, 21 Aug. 2026
  • Yan gazes intently at how the colors reflect against Pascoal’s skin, eyes and hair.
    — Sacbee.com, Sacbee.com, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of intently

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purposeful
purposefully
purposefulness
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Cite this Entry

“Purposefully.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/purposefully. Accessed 27 Aug. 2026.

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