purposeful

P3U1R1P3O1S1E1F4U1L1
UK/ˈpɜː.pəs.fəl/US/ˈpɝ.pəs.fəl/

adjective

Having purpose: having intention or meaning; intentional.

Opposite
Less commonScrabble 17

Meanings

adjectivepurposeful (comparative more purposeful, superlative most purposeful)

comparative more purposeful · superlative most purposeful

  1. Having purpose: having intention or meaning; intentional.

    […] spend purposeful time with my grandparents where we found out more about each other and had some interesting discussions.

    2015 May 12, Kim Chamberlain, Conversation Starters for Every Grandparent: Tips for Talking to (and with) Your Grandchildren, Your Children, and Other Grandparents, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN
    1 more example

    […] particular improvements in the teacher's stimulation and direction of the purposeful activities of children. It indicates, in this particular, growth of the teacher in guiding the purposeful activities of boys and girls. The purposes, in brief, are : 1. Primary purpose: to enable the teacher to grow continuously in stimulating and directing the purposeful activities of boys and girls. 2. Secondary purpose: to reveal teaching difficulties […]

    1926, Journal of Educational Method, page 98

    Synonyms: deliberate

  2. Having a purpose in mind; resolute; determined, full of determination.
    1 more example

    An utterly emphatic 5-0 victory was ultimately capped by two wonder strikes in the last two minutes from Aston Villa midfielder Gary Gardner. Before that, England had utterly dominated to take another purposeful stride towards the 2013 European Championship in Israel. They have already established a five-point buffer at the top of Group Eight.

    2011 November 10, Jeremy Wilson, “England Under 21 5 Iceland Under 21 0: match report”, in Telegraph

    Synonyms: determined, focused, resolute

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectiveHaving purpose: having intention or meaning; intentional.

Similar

adjectiveHaving a purpose in mind; resolute; determined, full of determination.

More synonyms by meaning

adjectiveserving as or indicating the existence of a purpose or goal

Opposite

adjectivehaving meaning through having an aim

Similar

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

Translations

Bulgarian умишлен, решителен
  • умишлен (umišlen)intentional
  • решителен (rešitelen)resolute
  • целеустремен (celeustremen)resolute
Dutch opzettelijk, vastberaden
  • opzettelijkintentional
  • vastberadenresolute
German entschlossen, zielgerichtet
  • entschlossenresolute
  • zielgerichtetresolute
Hungarian céltudatos, szándékos
  • céltudatosintentional
  • szándékosintentional
  • eltökéltresolute
  • határozottresolute
  • szilárdresolute
Māori whaitake, whaitake
  • whaitakeintentional
  • whaitakeresolute
Russian целенапра́вленный, умы́шленный
  • целенапра́вленный (celenaprávlennyj)intentional
  • умы́шленный (umýšlennyj)intentional
  • целеустремлённый (celeustremljónnyj)resolute
  • реши́тельный (rešítelʹnyj)resolute
Spanish propositivo, propositivo
  • propositivointentional
  • propositivoresolute
Swedish målmedveten
  • målmedvetenresolute
Turkish kasıtlı, istemli
  • kasıtlıintentional
  • istemliintentional
  • kastiintentional
  • amaçlıresolute
  • gayeliresolute
  • maksatlıresolute
  • kasıtlıresolute
Cite this entry
APA

purposeful. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/purposeful

MLA

“purposeful.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/purposeful. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “purposeful,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/purposeful.

Source: purposeful on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.