adjective
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relating to, having, or indicating conscious intention
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serving a purpose; useful
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of purposive
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.
Public policy is the broad strategy government uses to do its job, the relatively stable set of purposive governmental behaviors that address matters of concern to some part of society.
From Textbooks ● Jul. 28, 2021
They were grim, purposive pleas about “making a plan” that might involve multiple brown bag meals and waiting in line for hours.
From Slate ● Aug. 21, 2020
Circulating through this purposive material stockpile is the only way to experience an art built entirely on double takes.
From New York Times ● Jul. 16, 2020
If there is any hope for a better world, it lies in the daily effort to expand the circle of those we believe should be treated as full, purposive and dignified human beings.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 1, 2019
For them, as we saw in Chapter 9, the argument from design depended on envisaging the universe as manufactured, rather than on showing nature itself to be purposive.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
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.
