as in deliberate
made, given, or done with full awareness of what one is doing
facial tics and other unconscious movements that one would not normally call purposive actions
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of purposive
The character dimension of transcendence underpins purposive leadership by supplying the steady, renewable energy that allows leaders to act with intention rather than impulse.
—
Mary Crossan,
Forbes.com,
28 Jan. 2026
Strengthening transcendence, with its associated behaviors of being purposive, inspired, optimistic, creative, and future-oriented, helps to broaden your perspective and see beyond the immediate challenges.
—
Mary Crossan,
Forbes,
18 Dec. 2024
For Defoe, meaning is purposive and theological, purposive because theological.
—
James Wood,
The New Yorker,
19 Sep. 2022
Sporadic outbursts of feeling are converted into purposive and unremitting activity.
—
Aldous Huxley,
Harper's Magazine,
17 Aug. 2021
Mary Crossan,
Forbes.com,
28 Jan. 2026
Strengthening transcendence, with its associated behaviors of being purposive, inspired, optimistic, creative, and future-oriented, helps to broaden your perspective and see beyond the immediate challenges.
—
Mary Crossan,
Forbes,
18 Dec. 2024
For Defoe, meaning is purposive and theological, purposive because theological.
—
James Wood,
The New Yorker,
19 Sep. 2022
Sporadic outbursts of feeling are converted into purposive and unremitting activity.
—
Aldous Huxley,
Harper's Magazine,
17 Aug. 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for purposive
Adjective
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The design is open and clean, with a deliberate choice to draw the surrounding scenery deep into the interior of the home.
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Prosecutors call Hearn’s actions a deliberate, violent act causing more than $1,000 in damage, and his attorneys denounce the case as an alarming misuse of government power.
Adjective
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The reason is that the administration has shrunk the requirements for reports of immunization from states, changing the reports from mandated to voluntary.
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Without control of committee gavels — and the subpoena power that comes with them — legislative inquiries from the Hill minority generally rely on the voluntary compliance from their targets to produce documents or testimony.
Adjective
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Factor meals are made with health-conscious ingredients that can cater to your dietary needs, ranging from Keto to vegan and beyond.
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As an ambassador for Cystic Fibrosis Ireland, Howard is conscious of what his appearance at The Open could mean to younger people living with the condition and to their families.
Adjective
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Tumpa, her nephew, and Oro Recovery were also all accused of intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent infliction of emotional distress, and invasion of privacy by public disclosure of private facts.
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Under church law, the consecrations constitute a schismatic act, or an intentional rupture of the unity of the Catholic Church, and incur automatic excommunication for the four bishops and the bishop administering the consecration.
Adjective
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If the device experience fails, the software running on it rarely delivers its intended value.
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The plaintiffs have also accused Bayer of negligence and misrepresentation of Roundup's safety in its marketing, and have alleged that the product was defective for its intended purpose.
Adjective
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Some of Thomas’s critique appeared to be aimed at weak-willed conservatives, including his fellow-Justices, for being, as Thomas perceives it, too spineless to stand up for the ideals enshrined in the Declaration.
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Meanwhile, gracious but iron-willed family matriarch Claudine works tirelessly behind the scenes to hush up family scandals.
Cite this Entry
“Purposive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/purposive. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.
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