as in intentionally
with full awareness of what one is doing
the real estate agent purposely withheld information that would have discouraged us from buying the property
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Recent Examples of purposely
Here’s a great example from a game earlier in the season against the Philadelphia 76ers, when Jamal Shead gets beaten backdoor after purposely overplaying Tyrese Maxey to reject a handoff.
—
Sam Vecenie, New York Times, 19 Feb. 2026
With an acoustic guitar and two other electrics already in place from the original tracking session, Gallaher purposely developed a consistent tone for those parts so that listeners could better identify his place in the instrumental mix.
—Tom Roland, Billboard, 18 Feb. 2026
He purposely has not been told whether he was given the actual medication or the placebo.
—Sean Krofssik, Hartford Courant, 17 Feb. 2026
Silver firmly stated that the investigation and its findings were not purposely delayed while the Clippers host this All-Star weekend.
—Arkansas Online, 15 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for purposely
Sam Vecenie, New York Times, 19 Feb. 2026
With an acoustic guitar and two other electrics already in place from the original tracking session, Gallaher purposely developed a consistent tone for those parts so that listeners could better identify his place in the instrumental mix.
—Tom Roland, Billboard, 18 Feb. 2026
He purposely has not been told whether he was given the actual medication or the placebo.
—Sean Krofssik, Hartford Courant, 17 Feb. 2026
Silver firmly stated that the investigation and its findings were not purposely delayed while the Clippers host this All-Star weekend.
—Arkansas Online, 15 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for purposely
Recent Examples of Synonyms for purposely
Adverb
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This sudden outburst earns her a pauper’s grave, after she’s hauled out of the restaurant and shoved, accidentally or intentionally, down the stairs.—
Alison Willmore,
Vulture,
5 Mar. 2026
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Not accidentally with a swollen or exploding battery, but intentionally with a miniature cigarette lighter built into the top.—
Eric Zeman,
PC Magazine,
5 Mar. 2026
Adverb
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Massive billionaire funding in the race from artificial intelligence interests operated largely outside public awareness, with super PACs spending enormous sums while deliberately avoiding transparency about their true policy priorities, particularly regarding AI regulation[1].—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
5 Mar. 2026
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The Hungarian government has recently accused Kyiv of deliberately holding back Russian oil deliveries through the pipeline, which crosses Ukraine's territory.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
5 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Purposely.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/purposely. Accessed 7 Mar. 2026.
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