purposely

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purposely

/ˈpɝpəsli/ US
/ˈpɜːpəsli/ UK

Where it comes from

From Middle English purposly; equivalent to purpose + -ly.

adverb more purposely · most purposely

On purpose; intentionally. I purposely left the door unlocked.
Similar: deliberately, intentionally, on purpose, purposefully[proscribed]]>, wilfully, willfully

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: designedly, intentionally, deliberately, advisedly, by design, by choice, on purpose, deliberate, purposefully, purposively, consciously, knowingly, expressly, explicitly, specifically, specially

Translations

Every language

adv on purpose; intentionally — see also on purpose, intentionally

Español	intencionadamente, aposta, a propósito
日本語	わざと wazato
中文	故意 gùyì
Português	propositadamente
Français	exprès
Deutsch	absichtlich
Italiano	apposta, di proposito, intenzionalmente
Русский	наме́ренно namérenno, специа́льно speciálʹno

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Cite this

MLA

"purposely." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/purposely. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

purposely. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/purposely

Chicago

"purposely." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/purposely.

BibTeX

@misc{purposely_2026,
  title = {purposely},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/purposely},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}