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
Relevance
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
Anaheim police arrested a teen connected to a group of smash-and-grab robbers who purposefully rammed an SUV into an Anaheim jewelry store before crashing their getaway cars during a pursuit last month.
—
Matthew Rodriguez, CBS News, 4 Feb. 2026
Social butterfly Venus and pensive Chiron are waltzing through your learning zone and your social sector, showing off just how much your friends can teach you — purposefully or not.
—Tarot.com, The Orlando Sentinel, 4 Feb. 2026
Soul and salsa blended together, while the music purposefully connected to its South Beach site.
—Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 30 Jan. 2026
The couple meets again a purposefully fuzzy period of time later, disagreeing on the hazy details.
—Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 29 Jan. 2026
The creators purposefully chose not to over-index on Sophie’s Korean identity.
—Kat Moon, Time, 29 Jan. 2026
The visual language toggles purposefully between wide shots and tight close-ups, mirroring Harry’s ability to survey a room and zero in on his take with surgical precision.
—Beandrea July, IndieWire, 28 Jan. 2026
Prior to High School Musical, the original films that debuted on the channel were purposefully low budget, often cast unknowns or were essentially two hour long episodes for existing shows.
—Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 24 Jan. 2026
The panel found that armed assaults can be committed recklessly, meaning the defendant should have known the act carried a risk of danger, not just purposefully, meaning the defendant intended to harm the victim.
—Michael Ruiz, FOXNews.com, 21 Jan. 2026
Matthew Rodriguez, CBS News, 4 Feb. 2026
Social butterfly Venus and pensive Chiron are waltzing through your learning zone and your social sector, showing off just how much your friends can teach you — purposefully or not.
—Tarot.com, The Orlando Sentinel, 4 Feb. 2026
Soul and salsa blended together, while the music purposefully connected to its South Beach site.
—Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 30 Jan. 2026
The couple meets again a purposefully fuzzy period of time later, disagreeing on the hazy details.
—Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 29 Jan. 2026
The creators purposefully chose not to over-index on Sophie’s Korean identity.
—Kat Moon, Time, 29 Jan. 2026
The visual language toggles purposefully between wide shots and tight close-ups, mirroring Harry’s ability to survey a room and zero in on his take with surgical precision.
—Beandrea July, IndieWire, 28 Jan. 2026
Prior to High School Musical, the original films that debuted on the channel were purposefully low budget, often cast unknowns or were essentially two hour long episodes for existing shows.
—Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 24 Jan. 2026
The panel found that armed assaults can be committed recklessly, meaning the defendant should have known the act carried a risk of danger, not just purposefully, meaning the defendant intended to harm the victim.
—Michael Ruiz, FOXNews.com, 21 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for purposefully
Adverb
-
Drift racers intentionally oversteer to the point of losing traction while maintaining control of the car.—
Brady MacDonald,
Oc Register,
5 Feb. 2026
-
The data includes accounts that former employees intentionally leave in their old plan, for example, to take advantage of lower fees or stronger creditor protections relative to IRAs.—
Sarah Agostino,
CNBC,
4 Feb. 2026
Adverb
-
What has been hardest is seeing ordinary lives, families, young people, civilians slowly reduced to headlines or abstractions, rather than recognized as individuals living under immense and sustained pressure.—
Emily Chan,
Vogue,
14 Feb. 2026
-
Essentially, what seem like small tweaks have noticeable impacts on control when pushing the ski hard.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
14 Feb. 2026
Adverb
-
The performance is deliberately showy, and some voters may feel the virtuosity outweighs emotional revelation.—
Clayton Davis,
Variety,
11 Feb. 2026
-
There is another kind of voter fraud which has escaped the attention--whether accidentally or deliberately--of the media.—
Cal Thomas,
Arkansas Online,
10 Feb. 2026
Adverb
-
In Danbury, as in many cities across the state, our planning and legal staff are working intensively to interpret the new requirements in order to implement them by the July 1 deadline.—
Waleed Albakry,
Hartford Courant,
11 Feb. 2026
-
This winter -- the fourth of Russia's full-scale invasion -- has seen Moscow intensively target Ukraine's energy infrastructure, wreaking havoc on the national grid and precipitating rolling and extended blackouts for millions of Ukrainians.—
David Brennan,
ABC News,
3 Feb. 2026
Adverb
-
Silver firmly stated that the investigation and its findings were not purposely delayed while the Clippers host this All-Star weekend.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
15 Feb. 2026
-
Silver firmly stated that the investigation and its findings were not purposely delayed while the Clippers host All-Star weekend.—
Greg Beacham,
Los Angeles Times,
14 Feb. 2026
Adverb
-
Within the healthy low-carb diet category, people who most diligently followed that diet had a 15% lower risk of coronary heart disease compared to the least diligent people.—
Barbara Mantel,
NBC news,
11 Feb. 2026
-
Like Victor Frankenstein, who diligently selects body parts from corpses to stitch together his humanoid creation, the Mexican director carefully assembled his troupe of movie magicians.—
Carlos Aguilar,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Feb. 2026
Adverb
-
Viewership did not get an anticipated kick up by attracting curiosity seekers during Dokoupil’s first month, but one person watching intensely was Bari Weiss.—
Rick Kogan,
Chicago Tribune,
3 Feb. 2026
-
Others love it or intensely dislike it.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
2 Feb. 2026
Adverb
-
Daytona Beach News-Journal / Imagn Images Across the diamond, a woman in her 50s listens intently to another instructor’s critique.—
Katie Woo,
New York Times,
12 Feb. 2026
-
After completing fielding drills with Washington and Jolbert Cabrera, the fundamentals coach for Triple-A Sacramento, Eldridge listened intently to Washington’s defensive guidance for several minutes.—
Justice delos Santos,
Mercury News,
11 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Purposefully.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/purposefully. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
