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
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
In this sense, history is not only rational but also providential: designed, purposive, teleological.
—James Wood, The New Yorker, 25 May 2020
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
In this sense, history is not only rational but also providential: designed, purposive, teleological.
—James Wood, The New Yorker, 25 May 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for purposive
Adjective
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There was a deliberate uncertainty about what had happened to it in Bristol.—
Nicola Twilley,
The New Yorker,
3 Feb. 2025
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This is deliberate to punish the best news desks at the Pentagon and replace them propagandist pro-regime actors.—
Mandy Taheri,
Newsweek,
1 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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The driver was still conscious and capable of talking to the police earlier in the day, but the broadcaster later reported that rescuers could no longer communicate with him.—
Arata Yamamoto,
NBC News,
28 Jan. 2025
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Castro is deftly conscious of the complicated space that Selena occupied, weaving in a narrative of assimilation to multiple cultures.—
Esther Zuckerman,
IndieWire,
27 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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But the idea of displacement, voluntary or otherwise, is horrifying to Jordan and Egypt and likely alarming to other Arab allies of the US, threatening decades of international consensus about the right of Palestinians to a homeland.—
Tim Lister,
CNN,
28 Jan. 2025
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In 1994, the N.C. Poultry Federation adopted voluntary guidelines that said poultry houses should not be built closer than 500 feet to an occupied residence.—
Ames Alexander,
Charlotte Observer,
26 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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One is sluggish and emotional, while the other is intentional and full of movement.—
Skyler Caruso,
People.com,
31 Jan. 2025
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This feeling of being lost is, in fact, an intentional and playful feature of the design, turning the cabin into a kind of cabin-finding game, where discovery is part of the adventure.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
30 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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The intended answer, 88 ounces, indicated that a programming or grading error had been made after the child had handed the paper over.—
Kristan Hawkins,
Newsweek,
7 Feb. 2025
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Chouest spent most of that period looking to unload the vessel after Shell, its intended user, walked away. Members who received money from Chouest pressured the Coast Guard to rent or buy the Aiviq from the company.—
McKenzie Funk,
ProPublica,
23 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Even more than his strong, octave-surfing Ontario accent, his willed congeniality—a mix of natural reserve and a morbid aversion to pretense—spoke to something in my bones.—
Michelle Orange,
Harper's Magazine,
14 Dec. 2023
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Read: The changing sound of male rage in rock music Underscoring his willed isolation is the fact that Fight Club intentionally seems to take place nowhere.—
Stephen Kearse,
The Atlantic,
15 Oct. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near purposive
Cite this Entry
“Purposive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/purposive. Accessed 10 Feb. 2025.
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