Purposeful vs Purposive

Both 'purposeful' and 'purposive' are correct adjectives that can be used to describe something done with intent or purpose. 'Purposeful' is more commonly used in everyday language, while 'purposive' is often used in legal or academic contexts.

Last updated: March 31, 2024 • 858 views

The word 'purposeful' is a correct adjective used to describe something done with intent or purpose.

"Purposeful"

It is commonly used in everyday language to describe actions, behaviors, or decisions that are deliberate and intentional.

Examples:

She made a purposeful effort to improve her communication skills.
His purposeful strides showed his determination to reach the finish line.

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Here the Commission must be given powers and resources to enable it to establish a purposeful and risk-based monitoring system.
There is something fantastically purposeful about this car.
If we're in a purposeful mood, that makes us anxious.
It's a purposeful activity, designed to solve a what?
A considerable part of the Bulgarian population was taken away into slavery, exterminated or forcibly converted to Islam, which is basically a purposeful ethnic cleansing.
I wish Mrs Pack every success in her splendid and purposeful work.
The way Gentry described it, it sounded purposeful.
At the moment, I rather have the feeling that our actions are relatively selective and ad hoc and not really purposeful.
What is missing, though, is the purposeful exchange of experiences and best practices across national borders.
BARRIS: You see, all symptoms are purposeful, be they positive or negative.
There is, fifthly, a need for a purposeful and structured dialogue with civil society, and I hope that the Presidency's proposals in this regard will find support among the various governments.
Through better coordination of existing support mechanisms, it will become possible to make more purposeful use of the EU's structural funds without requiring a greater allocation of resources to those inter-regional areas of cooperation.
Like me. "purposeful, self-possessed, and gregarious."
Considers that the aim must be a purposeful monitoring system based on a risk analysis in which objective factors are central and in which Member States whose infringement rates are above average must expect to face more stringent checks;
Purposeful, but still feminine.
Proposes instead that the White Paper should be seen as initiating a purposeful dialogue between the institutions of the Union on governance reform, including measures in the 'first phase', and for the outcome to be incorporated into a revised text by the end of 2002;
Woke up crying, purposeful movements.
Not very handsome, but... purposeful.
The purposeful suspension of common sense.

Alternatives:

intentional
deliberate
calculated
conscious
willful

The word 'purposive' is a correct adjective used to describe something done with intent or purpose, especially in legal or academic contexts.

"Purposive"

It is often used in legal or academic settings to describe actions, interpretations, or approaches that are goal-oriented or directed towards a specific purpose.

Examples:

The purposive interpretation of the law aims to achieve justice.
The study adopted a purposive sampling technique to ensure representation of diverse perspectives.

Show examples from the web [+]

Which, given your skills, was purposive.
And, as an organization, the Chinese state is far stronger and more purposive than states are in more typical developing countries.
Now what's interesting here is that this is a quote from Dave Weinberger, where he talks about everything being purposive in the Web - there's nothing artificial.
In the list of purposive actions, presented in the Action Plan for Energy Efficiency, which plans to reduce use by 20% by 2020, it is also underlined that one of the possible means to achieve this goal is labelling of tyres.
I know there are questions about scientific explanation and how far it does or does not involve purposive concepts.
The outcome of a European initiative in the area of micro-credits should be modern, paying most attention to those purposive groups, which until now have not received sufficient attention.
Some read evolutionary theory itself in a quasi-purposive fashion, though Dawkins won't.

Alternatives:

goal-oriented
intentional
directed
aimed
targeted

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Purposeful vs Purposive

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