PURPOSES Synonyms: 97 Similar and Opposite Words

purposes 1 of 2

noun

plural of purpose

as in goals

something that one hopes or intends to accomplish the purpose of the research is to discover how the virus is transmitted

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in roles

the action for which a person or thing is specially fitted or used or for which a thing exists still trying to discover her purpose in life

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purposes

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of purpose

as in plans

to have in mind as a purpose or goal I've been purposing to fix that thing for some time now

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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 purposes

Noun

Israel says major rehabilitation efforts won’t begin until Hamas is disarmed, and says construction equipment is dual-use and can serve military purposes. — Bilal Shbeir, Los Angeles Times, 9 July 2026 However, StyleCaster may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes. — Gina Vaynshteyn, StyleCaster, 9 July 2026 First, only players with three years of NBA experience are eligible (even a portion of a season in the NBA counts as a year for two-way purposes). — Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 9 July 2026 Meredith’s counsel, Darren Heitner, argued the questions were of little to no relevance to whether his client transferred for athletic purposes. — Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 9 July 2026 This article is for informational purposes only and does not substitute for professional medical advice. — Gretchen Wittenmyer-Stone, Miami Herald, 9 July 2026 Both styles are low-impact, but they were built for different purposes. — Hanna Wickes, Sacbee.com, 9 July 2026 The information provided is for educational purposes and should not be construed as financial, investment or trading advice. — Usa Today, USA Today, 2 July 2026 The meaning of the Constitution, in his view, was found in its broader purposes, not its text. — Jeannie Suk Gersen, New Yorker, 2 July 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for purposes

Noun

Spain’s Pau Cubarsi is at the heart of a defense that has allowed exactly zero goals through five World Cup matches.

— Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 July 2026
For founder Bryce Rademan, the idea of a restaurant in Roseville aligned with the chain’s goals to expand more in California.

— Emma Hall, Sacbee.com, 9 July 2026

Definition of goals

Noun

Women are stepping back from leadership roles, withdrawing from opportunities, and quietly losing trust in their own judgment in response to a biological event nobody told them was biological.

— Dr. Sarah Berg, Time, 9 July 2026
But one area of expansion Green and Sparks want to heavily focus on is adding more women in public facing roles within GGL to accurately represent the number of women within the larger gaming community.

— Jennifer Maas, Variety, 9 July 2026

Definition of roles

Verb

The company now plans to demonstrate how the same autonomous technologies can improve aircraft inspection and maintenance.

— Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 10 July 2026
The documents say the company plans to build seven pump stations, three of them located on federal land managed by the agency.

— Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 10 July 2026

Definition of plans

Noun

Should economic growth threaten one of those aspects, the FOMC is employed to move in order to deliver its objectives.

— Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 3 July 2026
So the upcoming Flight 13 will likely mirror much of the flight path and mission objectives as Flight 12, including relighting one of Ship's Raptor engines in space.

— Josh Dinner, Space.com, 2 July 2026

Definition of objectives

Noun

Boston Dynamics said the same AI training methods used to teach Atlas celebratory football movements are also being applied to warehouse automation and manufacturing tasks.

— Clemente Lisi, Forbes.com, 6 July 2026
According to Argentina’s Ministry of Defense, the dogs are trained to operate in complex disaster environments and perform two critical tasks alongside their handlers – locating survivors and recovering victims trapped beneath collapsed structures.

— Alessandra Freitas, CNN Money, 5 July 2026

Definition of tasks

Noun

One of the aims of this research is to investigate the impact that radiation and outflows of material from low-mass stars have on their environment.

— Robert Lea, Space.com, 3 July 2026
The Kremlin said Russian military commanders briefed Russian President Vladimir Putin on the attacks and said Moscow would continue increasing pressure on Ukraine to achieve its war aims.

— Efrat Lachter, FOXNews.com, 2 July 2026

Definition of aims

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purposely

purposes

purposing

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Style

“Purposes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/purposes. Accessed 10 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of purposes

noun

verb

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