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

Anthropic wanted assurance that its technology would not be used for fully autonomous weapons or domestic mass surveillance, and the DOD wanted Anthropic to grant the agency unfettered access to Claude across all lawful purposes. — Ashley Capoot, CNBC, 28 Aug. 2026 Governments generally don’t need a model that’s as powerful as what’s on the frontier to automate a few tasks; Ting explains that a tiny model, even one with as few as 1 billion parameters, can suit those purposes. — Nicholas Gordon, Fortune, 27 Aug. 2026 The number of satellites in orbit now is around 18,000, but it’s expected to reach 100,000 in 2030, driven sharply by the growth of LEO networks for communications and other purposes. — IEEE Spectrum, 20 Aug. 2026 Universities such as Harvard and MIT, along with tech companies like Amazon and Nvidia, purchased such robots made in China through RoboStore for their own research and development purposes. — Jeremy Hsu, ArsTechnica, 20 Aug. 2026 The source said Swalwell was held on Saturday at SFO and released the same day he was detained for search purposes. — Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times, 20 Aug. 2026 If approved, the legislation would extend exemptions to class cars built between 1976 and 1985 that are used primarily for exhibition purposes and have limited use on public roadways. — Darrielle Fair, CBS News, 13 Aug. 2026 Warner said Idaho Public Archaeology, which has had around 400 volunteers and 5,000 visitors to various projects over the years, serves multiple purposes. — Nicole Blanchard, Idaho Statesman, 13 Aug. 2026 The Washington Post reported earlier this month finding nearly 50 instances of police officers charged or accused of using the cameras for unauthorized purposes, many for tracking current or former romantic partners or family members. — Sarah Rankin, Chicago Tribune, 13 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for purposes

Noun

The Sun conjoins Mercury in Virgo and your 10th House of Career, Reputation, Authority, and Public Life, helping your goals become easier to explain.

— Tarot.com, The Orlando Sentinel, 27 Aug. 2026
Sanchez also had a pair of goals in the Courage’s 2-1 victory over the Boston Legacy on Saturday.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 27 Aug. 2026

Definition of goals

Noun

An all-rounder with a heart of gold, Dolly will also be remembered for her philanthropy, her acting roles, her business acumen and her support of good causes.

— Lars Brandle, Billboard, 27 Aug. 2026
The actresses are reprising their roles as the two witch sisters nearly 30 years after the 1998 original.

— Karla Rodriguez, Footwear News, 27 Aug. 2026

Definition of roles

Verb

But the company eventually plans to open-source the standard, which means any device manufacturer in any industry will be able to adopt it.

— Ashley Capoot, CNBC, 27 Aug. 2026
Heat limits chip performance The aerospace and defense firm plans to integrate diamond directly into advanced semiconductor devices.

— Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 27 Aug. 2026

Definition of plans

Noun

Russian forces have long targeted the strategic cities of Kostyantynivka, Kramatorsk and Sloviansk as part of a push to completely capture the Donetsk Oblast, one of the Kremlin’s key objectives in the conflict.

— Sam Meredith, CNBC, 28 Aug. 2026
Technical objectives and operational milestones are expected to be disclosed as the programs progress.

— Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of objectives

Noun

Once a process to curate guest lists for elaborate events, now restaurateurs can fire off a quick direct message to an influencer between kitchen tasks.

— Lyndsay C. Green, Freep.com, 30 Aug. 2026
Summary Chinese economist Tang Min states AI reshapes job tasks more than eliminating positions, creating new roles despite global anxiety.

— Russell Flannery, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2026

Definition of tasks

Verb

The campaign intends to hire a Jewish liaison and is in the midst of an interview process for the role, which includes talking with Jewish community leaders, a person familiar with the campaign told JTA.

— Andrew Lapin, Sun Sentinel, 31 Aug. 2026
Sebastian Kim, head of the content business Unit at CJ ENM, said the series had opened a door the company intends to keep pushing through.

— Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 30 Aug. 2026

Definition of intends

Noun

Moving away from a retrospective punishment mechanism appealed to Portsmouth too, as did the shift to a focus on liquidity, something which meshes with the aims of the independent football regulator, which recently came into operation in England.

— Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 14 Aug. 2026
Vance’s comments also seemed to suggest that the administration was more acutely focused on the economic impact of the war than the original aims of the war itself.

— ABC News, ABC News, 13 Aug. 2026

Definition of aims

Noun

Forty-eight business entities were named in the sanctions, with more than 20 of them related to shipping, logistics or maritime functions.

— Glenn Taylor, Footwear News, 25 Aug. 2026
Beyond the main house, Castleton functions on an almost village-like scale, with nine additional residences, 16 barns containing 268 stalls, and an extensive network of paddocks, breeding and training facilities.

— Mark David, Robb Report, 25 Aug. 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 2 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of purposes

noun

verb

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