Dictionary

purposefully en · ADV

Pronunciation

• /ˈpɜː.pəs.fə.li/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˈpɝ.pəs.fə.li/ (General-American)

Etymology

Etymology tree English purposeful Middle English -ly English -ly English purposefully From purposeful + -ly.

Meanings

1. In a purposeful (“resolute, determined”) manner: resolutely, determinedly.
   • I strode purposefully across the room.
2. In a purposeful (“intentional”) manner: intentionally, on purpose, purposely, deliberately.
   • Jones’ sad eyes betray a pervasive pain his purposefully spare dialogue only hints at, while the perfectly cast Brolin conveys hints of playfulness and warmth while staying true to the craggy stoicism at the character’s core. 2012 May 24, Nathan Rabin, “Film: Reviews: Men In Black 3”, in The Onion AV Club, archived from the original on 05 Feb 2013:
   • [C]riminals are purposefully recruiting young, middle-class university students to do their dirty work “because they know they’re honest” and can be trusted to pass on the stolen cash rather than pocketing it all. Plus, students are cash hungry, as lockdown restrictions have squeezed any income from part-time jobs. 2020 December 8, Claer Barrett, “Could your child be recruited as a money mule?”, in Financial Times, archived from the original on 08 Dec 2020:

Forms

Synonyms

wilfully · deliberately · willfully · purposely · intentionally

Translations (12)

fr intentionnellement (in an intentional manner; intentionally, on purpose) · fr délibérément (in an intentional manner; intentionally, on purpose) · es propositivamente (in an intentional manner; intentionally, on purpose) · fr sciemment (in an intentional manner; intentionally, on purpose) · fr décidément (in a resolute, determined manner; resolutely) · fr résolument (in a resolute, determined manner; resolutely) · fi päättäväisesti (in a resolute, determined manner; resolutely) · pt deliberadamente (in an intentional manner; intentionally, on purpose) · pt decididamente (in a resolute, determined manner; resolutely) · pt intencionalmente (in an intentional manner; intentionally, on purpose) · es propositivamente (in a resolute, determined manner; resolutely) · fi määrätietoisesti (in an intentional manner; intentionally, on purpose)