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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of purposefully
Set an alarm to purposefully wake up in the middle of the night, stay awake for 30 minutes to two hours and then go back to sleep.
—
Hannah Yasharoff, USA Today, 28 Oct. 2025
The Athletic recently outlined a novel approach that sides are trialling against Barcelona, in which No 9s are purposefully left offside to be played on by overlapping team-mates later in the move.
—Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2025
One of the defendants texted another co-conspirator that Billups should purposefully lose a hand to avoid cheating suspicions.
—Jackson Thompson, FOXNews.com, 24 Oct. 2025
Ultimately, Hedda is a stunning reimagining that painstakingly and purposefully builds towards an astonishing climax.
—Kathleen Newman-Bremang, Refinery29, 23 Oct. 2025
The singer’s Debí Tirar Más Fotos World Tour, which is scheduled to run from December through July 2026, is purposefully not stopping in the States.
—Zack Sharf, Variety, 22 Oct. 2025
Supervisor Kate Brophy McGee said the audit was purposefully designed to smear the Sheriff's Office.
—Richard Ruelas, AZCentral.com, 22 Oct. 2025
Even though the prosecutor knew this critical information that would have exonerated me, the prosecutor purposefully withheld this information from myself and my defense team for nearly 8 months.
—Micah Kimball, Denver Post, 16 Oct. 2025
Like Sly Stone’s There’s a Riot Goin’ On or Marvin Gaye’s Here, My Dear, Voodoo is purposefully difficult music.
—Touré, Rolling Stone, 14 Oct. 2025
Hannah Yasharoff, USA Today, 28 Oct. 2025
The Athletic recently outlined a novel approach that sides are trialling against Barcelona, in which No 9s are purposefully left offside to be played on by overlapping team-mates later in the move.
—Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2025
One of the defendants texted another co-conspirator that Billups should purposefully lose a hand to avoid cheating suspicions.
—Jackson Thompson, FOXNews.com, 24 Oct. 2025
Ultimately, Hedda is a stunning reimagining that painstakingly and purposefully builds towards an astonishing climax.
—Kathleen Newman-Bremang, Refinery29, 23 Oct. 2025
The singer’s Debí Tirar Más Fotos World Tour, which is scheduled to run from December through July 2026, is purposefully not stopping in the States.
—Zack Sharf, Variety, 22 Oct. 2025
Supervisor Kate Brophy McGee said the audit was purposefully designed to smear the Sheriff's Office.
—Richard Ruelas, AZCentral.com, 22 Oct. 2025
Even though the prosecutor knew this critical information that would have exonerated me, the prosecutor purposefully withheld this information from myself and my defense team for nearly 8 months.
—Micah Kimball, Denver Post, 16 Oct. 2025
Like Sly Stone’s There’s a Riot Goin’ On or Marvin Gaye’s Here, My Dear, Voodoo is purposefully difficult music.
—Touré, Rolling Stone, 14 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for purposefully
Adverb
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Dispatch audio obtained by PEOPLE confirmed that Kneeland’s girlfriend dialed 911, afraid that the football star would intentionally harm himself.—
Angel Saunders,
PEOPLE,
7 Nov. 2025
-
The city of Craig has agreed to pay $300,000 to settle claims brought by a man who suffered major injuries after a law enforcement officer intentionally plowed into him with an SUV.—
Sam Tabachnik,
Denver Post,
7 Nov. 2025
Adverb
-
Alexandria has been really hard hit, down 50% in that period.—
Jason Gewirtz,
CNBC,
6 Jan. 2026
-
For instance, walking most days is far better than exercising hard once a month.—
Katia Hetter,
CNN Money,
6 Jan. 2026
Adverb
-
Paffett-Lugassy said the interaction model stays deliberately minimal.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
9 Jan. 2026
-
The spa The Ritz-Carlton Spa, Key Biscayne is a 30,000-square-foot retreat that feels deliberately removed from the energy of the rest of the resort.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
8 Jan. 2026
Adverb
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This selective approach came after years of working intensively to support her two sons as a single mother.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
7 Dec. 2025
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So important are Rubicon units that the Ukrainian security services are now intensively searching out their forward bases.—
Tim Lister,
CNN Money,
22 Nov. 2025
Adverb
-
Kiyan purposely keeps his circle small.—
Lindsay Schnell,
New York Times,
6 Jan. 2026
-
Arizona state law mandates drivers can't purposely bypass going through a stop sign or stoplight, according to ARS 28-651.—
Shelby Slade,
AZCentral.com,
6 Jan. 2026
Adverb
-
Detectives are working diligently to solve this case.—
Caroline Blair,
PEOPLE,
7 Jan. 2026
-
With its goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2060, China is working diligently to move away from fossil fuels toward non-carbon-emitting energy sources.—
Ameya Paleja,
Interesting Engineering,
6 Jan. 2026
Adverb
-
Many are intensely private, so part of the heritage director’s role is to cultivate mutually beneficial relationships.—
Paige Reddinger,
Robb Report,
8 Nov. 2025
-
At the same time, Always Greener is an intensely personal project.—
Max Goldbart,
Deadline,
5 Nov. 2025
Adverb
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People with autism may have difficulty transitioning from one activity to another, focus intently on small details or have unusual reactions to sensory stimulus.—
The Baltimore Sun,
Boston Herald,
30 Dec. 2025
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Social media videos of four-legged companions watching the movie adaptation of the beloved holiday classic have gone viral as pups of all shapes and sizes appear to be intently watching, especially when the Grinch, played by Jim Carrey, is on screen with Max, his dog and companion.—
James Powel,
USA Today,
23 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Purposefully.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/purposefully. Accessed 11 Jan. 2026.
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