purposeful
Americanadjective
-
having a definite purpose in view
-
fixed in one's purpose; determined
Usage
Purposefully is sometimes wrongly used where purposely is meant: he had purposely (not purposefully ) left the door unlocked
Other Word Forms
- purposefully adverb
- purposefulness noun
Etymology
Origin of purposeful
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“She must have felt so much shame,” she said, describing her own experience of being a divorced woman in this town — where custom and convention are supreme, and purposeful familial destruction is abhorrent.
From Los Angeles Times
Inspired by her father's experience with the condition, Ms Kanna wanted a place where people could remain engaged and feel purposeful.
From BBC
Keep leading a purposeful life, keep trying to make a difference and don’t let the age thing even mean anything.
From Los Angeles Times
They stay engaged, purposeful, and connected to their communities well into old age.
From MarketWatch
They were etherealized through delicate pastels, and while Brundage created images to appeal to the male gaze, she also could portray women as purposeful agents rather than passive victims.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
