purpose

[pur-puhs]

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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR purpose ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the reason for which something exists or is done, made, used, etc.

an intended or desired result; end; aim; goal.

determination; resoluteness.

the subject in hand; the point at issue.

practical result, effect, or advantage: to act to good purpose.

verb (used with object), pur·posed, pur·pos·ing.

to set as an aim, intention, or goal for oneself.

to intend; design.

to resolve (to do something): He purposed to change his way of life radically.

verb (used without object), pur·posed, pur·pos·ing.

to have a purpose.

Idioms

on purpose, by design; intentionally: How could you do such a thing on purpose?

to the purpose, relevant; to the point: Her objections were not to the purpose.

Origin of purpose

1250–1300; (noun) Middle English purpos < Old French, derivative of purposer, variant of proposer to propose; (v.) Middle English purposen < Anglo-French, Old French purposer

Related formspre·pur·pose, verb (used with object), pre·pur·posed, pre·pur·pos·ing.re·pur·pose, verb (used with object), re·pur·posed, re·pur·pos·ing.un·pur·posed, adjectiveun·pur·pos·ing, adjective

Synonyms for purpose

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR purpose ON THESAURUS.COM

1. object, point, rationale. See intention. 7. mean, contemplate, plan.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for purposed

ponder, resolve, decide, conclude, pursue, propose, mind, aim, contemplate, meditate, design, plan, determine, aspire, commit, consider, mean

Examples from the Web for purposed

Historical Examples of purposed

My tone was purposed insolence; I met his look with bravado.
The Bacillus of Beauty
Harriet Stark
Further, it lent a reasonable justification for his purposed act.
The Monster Men
Edgar Rice Burroughs
It was a purposed and deliberate communication of His secret of Happiness.
Pax Vobiscum
Henry Drummond
She divined what he purposed to do, and she refused to go with him.
A Singer from the Sea
Amelia Edith Huddleston Barr
After all persuasions had failed, we had tried threats: the thing he purposed to do was illegal.
Lotus Buds
Amy Carmichael

British Dictionary definitions for purposed

purpose

noun

the reason for which anything is done, created, or exists

a fixed design, outcome, or idea that is the object of an action or other effort

fixed intention in doing something; determinationa man of purpose

practical advantage or useto work to good purpose

that which is relevant or under consideration (esp in the phrase to or from the purpose)

archaic purport

on purpose intentionally

verb (tr)

to intend or determine to do (something)

Word Origin for purpose

C13: from Old French porpos, from porposer to plan, from Latin prōpōnere to propose

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for purposed

purpose

c.1300, "intention, aim, goal," from Anglo-French purpos, Old French porpos "aim, intention" (12c.), from porposer "to put forth," from por- "forth" (from Latin pro- "forth;" see pur-) + Old French poser "to put, place" (see pose (v.1)). On purpose "by design" is attested from 1580s; earlier of purpose (early 15c.).

purpose

late 14c., from Anglo-French purposer "to design," Old French porposer "to intend, propose," variant of proposer (see propose).

Idioms and Phrases with purposed

purpose

see at cross purposes; for all intents and purposes; on purpose; serve a purpose; to good purpose; to little or no purpose.