PURPOSES Synonyms: 97 Similar and Opposite Words

purposes 1 of 2

noun

plural of purpose

as in goals

something that one hopes or intends to accomplish the purpose of the research is to discover how the virus is transmitted

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in roles

the action for which a person or thing is specially fitted or used or for which a thing exists still trying to discover her purpose in life

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purposes

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of purpose

as in plans

to have in mind as a purpose or goal I've been purposing to fix that thing for some time now

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of purposes

Noun

The benefit of being an official NFL partner is more for marketing purposes instead of anything that actually impacts lines. — Outkick, FOXNews.com, 27 Oct. 2026 Well, myself and the people in my office, but yes, for all intents and purposes, it has not been seen by anyone. — Marlow Stern, Variety, 27 Oct. 2026 The source said Swalwell was held at SFO for search purposes and released the same day. — Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times, 27 Oct. 2026 Local property taxes are deductible for the purposes of federal income tax. — Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board, The Orlando Sentinel, 27 Oct. 2026 RSVPs are encouraged for space planning purposes, but not required. — Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 27 Oct. 2026 Combined with its co-founders' pledge to donate 80% of their equity and an employee donation matching program, roughly 20% of Anthropic's shares will be dedicated to public purposes, excluding any additional shares added later. — Arkansas Online, 20 Oct. 2026 Preliminary findings indicate Wilcher accessed it on multiple occasions for non-law enforcement purposes, the GBI said. — Cbs News Atlanta Digital Team, CBS News, 20 Oct. 2026 This article is for informational purposes only and is not financial advice. — Manny Khan, Forbes.com, 20 Oct. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for purposes

Noun

The Sun enters your sign today, beginning your season and putting greater emphasis on your goals, identity, presence, and personal direction.

— Tarot.com, New York Daily News, 23 Oct. 2026
Knuble, playing his second career game, scored his first two goals in front of his father, former NHL forward Mike Knuble, who played 1,068 games with five teams.

— CBS News, CBS News, 22 Oct. 2026

Definition of goals

Noun

But the judge initially permitted him to supervise prosecutions in his other roles — an arrangement the subsequent 9th Circuit ruling undermined.

— Brittny Mejia, Los Angeles Times, 28 Oct. 2026
West, Ciaravino and Gill have stepped into leadership roles given all of the turnover.

— Colleen Kane, Chicago Tribune, 28 Oct. 2026

Definition of roles

Verb

In addition to the £120 million infusion, the UK also plans to dole out £60 million to a sovereign AI fund to help boost domestic AI companies, and £18 million to boost homegrown chip design.

— Ashley Gold, semafor.com, 28 Oct. 2026
The Justice Department, by comparison, plans to send out 1,000 people.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 28 Oct. 2026

Definition of plans

Noun

Akhlaghi added Iran was concentrating on its objectives through the use of new technologies.

— Khaled Wassef, CBS News, 21 Oct. 2026
The difference is that Russian coercion must now be aimed at Europe rather than the United States to achieve these objectives.

— Dmitry Adamsky, Foreign Affairs, 21 Oct. 2026

Definition of objectives

Verb

The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Thursday filed a lawsuit that intends to weigh in on the results of the Senate race in Alaska.

— Rebecca Schneid, Time, 24 Oct. 2026
The company intends to keep testing its defenses as model capabilities advance, rather than assume that today’s security measures will remain sufficient.

— Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 23 Oct. 2026

Definition of intends

Noun

The cynic would say their aims are financial, and the outcomes in education are merely incidental to that end.

— Kamau Bobb October 21, Literary Hub, 21 Oct. 2026
But the uneven nature of the film, its plotting, its character motivations, and its aims only become bigger and bloodier as the film winds on.

— Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 21 Oct. 2026

Definition of aims

Noun

The candidates were asked if money could be saved by consolidating back-office functions and other efficiencies.

— Christopher Keating, Hartford Courant, 28 Oct. 2026
However, the researchers have not yet combined the two functions into a single drug.

— Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 27 Oct. 2026

Definition of functions

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purposely

purposes

purposing

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Style

“Purposes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/purposes. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of purposes

noun

verb

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