How to Use purposely in a Sentence

purposely

adverb
Definition of purposelynext
Synonyms for purposelynext
  • The speech was purposely short and to the point but very detailed.
    — Roger Valdez, Forbes, 6 May 2021
  • The oak floors and white wall behind the bed are purposely left bare.
    — Catherine Hong, Better Homes & Gardens, 10 Aug. 2023
  • The most impressive thing about the sketch is the purposely bad singing.
    — Rosa Escandon, Forbes, 13 Oct. 2024
  • Hunter alleges that during the next take, Goth purposely kicked him in the head with her boot.
    — Jennifer Zhan, Vulture, 12 Jan. 2024
  • Not much is known about the plot of the Barbie film, which has purposely been kept under wraps.
    — Alyssa Bailey, ELLE, 3 July 2022
  • The Toros came out with Wolfe purposely missing the second free throw.
    — Richard Obert, The Arizona Republic, 1 Mar. 2023
  • The models reached the end and posed under a spotlight, in front of a trash can that had been purposely tipped over.
    — Chicago Tribune, Orange County Register, 1 Feb. 2024
  • But the owners and builders purposely left some fire scars on the exterior of the house.
    — Christine Lennon, Sunset Magazine, 11 Sep. 2023
  • Again, few were masked, and some seemed to walk purposely close to their Biden counterparts as a kind of taunt.
    — Mark Leibovich, New York Times, 22 Sep. 2020
  • Cousins purposely threw the ball too high to avoid a defender.
    — Mark Craig, Star Tribune, 24 Dec. 2020
  • But Putin purposely used a nerve agent so there would be footprints leading all the way back to the Kremlin.
    — CBS News, 26 Aug. 2020
  • Houston is what the Dolphins were in 2019 — a purposely bad team in a rebuild.
    — Keven Lerner, sun-sentinel.com, 4 Nov. 2021
  • Defense lawyers have claimed that Mr. Singer made the plan seem above board and purposely misled their clients.
    — Brian Whitton, WSJ, 6 Oct. 2021
  • Not back yet Canada is the only healthy piece of the Sparks’ back court that Miller purposely stacked with ball-handlers.
    — Thuc Nhi Nguyen, Los Angeles Times, 25 June 2023
  • My description just above is rather vague about time and place -- and purposely so.
    — Christian Schneider, National Review, 11 May 2023
  • For the last few months, Megan purposely stepped back from social media in order to heal.
    — Alyssa Bailey, ELLE, 19 Apr. 2023
  • But are the Cardinals purposely trying to lose games in 2023?
    — Jeremy Cluff, The Arizona Republic, 26 Aug. 2023
  • One day, a tall, bulky man leaned around my Plexiglas shield and purposely coughed.
    — New York Times, 22 Sep. 2021
  • Did your purposely pick songs people wouldn’t expect to hear from you?
    — Dana Rose Falcone, Peoplemag, 14 Dec. 2023
  • The issue is that these tools are not purposely built to manage MRO practices.
    — Paul J. Noble, Forbes, 23 Oct. 2024
  • Also on hand: a group of aides that the campaign has purposely kept small to reduce the risk of spreading the coronavirus.
    — Zeke Miller, chicagotribune.com, 21 Oct. 2020
  • Also on hand was a group of aides that the campaign has purposely kept small to reduce the risk of spreading the coronavirus.
    — Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, Arkansas Online, 21 Oct. 2020
  • Valle purposely did not inform Mason of the presence of the camera.
    — Jack Greiner, The Enquirer, 7 Apr. 2021
  • The income tax universe was not designed for the way the wealthy have their wealth today, but it wasn’t designed purposely not to tax them.
    — ProPublica, 6 Aug. 2021
  • In some cases, book clubs have formed purposely to prompt action.
    — Sophie Hills, The Christian Science Monitor, 3 Nov. 2020
  • The driver of the car, also 19, purposely drove the vehicle with the rollerblader holding on from the outside.
    — Elliot Hughes, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 18 Apr. 2021
  • The video shows that the crossing barriers were down and the red lights were flashing when the driver turned from a side street and seemed to purposely go around the gate and into the train’s path.
    — Terry Spencer, orlandosentinel.com, 16 Feb. 2022
  • Not that Noah is now purposely testing out melodies to his dad for future album use.
    — Rodney Ho, ajc, 22 July 2022
  • Critics assert that the AI makers have purposely censored the AI.
    — Lance Eliot, Forbes, 30 Nov. 2024
  • The analysis was intended to support the prosecution’s key contention: that Deputy David Crawford was the one who purposely discharged a stun gun at the man and ignited the blaze.
    — Cristóbal Reyes, Orlando Sentinel, 20 Nov. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'purposely.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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