"purposive" meaning in English

See purposive in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Adjective

IPA: /ˈpəːpəsɪv/ [UK], /ˈpɚpəsɪv/ [General-American] Forms: more purposive [comparative], most purposive [superlative]
Etymology: From purpose + -ive. Compare purpositive. Etymology templates: {{suffix|en|purpose|ive}} purpose + -ive, {{m|en|purpositive}} purpositive Head templates: {{en-adj}} purposive (comparative more purposive, superlative most purposive)
  1. Serving a particular purpose; adapted to a given purpose, especially through natural evolution.
    Sense id: en-purposive-en-adj-BsoPM~OI Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, English terms suffixed with -ive Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 14 23 18 22 12 11 Disambiguation of English terms suffixed with -ive: 22 15 16 17 19 12
  2. Done or performed with a conscious purpose or intent. Synonyms: deliberate, intentional, purposeful, intentional
    Sense id: en-purposive-en-adj-Ez8h8VKL Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, English terms suffixed with -ive Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 14 23 18 22 12 11 Disambiguation of English terms suffixed with -ive: 22 15 16 17 19 12
  3. (psychology) Pertaining to purpose, as reflected in behaviour or mental activity. Categories (topical): Psychology
    Sense id: en-purposive-en-adj-FFYfnVtU Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, English terms suffixed with -ive Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 14 23 18 22 12 11 Disambiguation of English terms suffixed with -ive: 22 15 16 17 19 12 Topics: human-sciences, psychology, sciences
  4. Pertaining to or demonstrating purpose.
    Sense id: en-purposive-en-adj-3Nwkc~1E Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, English terms suffixed with -ive Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 14 23 18 22 12 11 Disambiguation of English terms suffixed with -ive: 22 15 16 17 19 12
  5. Possessed of a firm purpose. Synonyms: determined, resolute
    Sense id: en-purposive-en-adj-IfwNXz8I Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, English terms suffixed with -ive Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 14 23 18 22 12 11 Disambiguation of English terms suffixed with -ive: 22 15 16 17 19 12
  6. (grammar) Of a clause or conjunction: expressing purpose. Categories (topical): Grammar
    Sense id: en-purposive-en-adj-e2iKYcI8 Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, English terms suffixed with -ive Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 14 23 18 22 12 11 Disambiguation of English terms suffixed with -ive: 22 15 16 17 19 12 Topics: grammar, human-sciences, linguistics, sciences
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Derived forms: purposive approach, purposively, purposiveness, purposivism, purposivist, purposivity Related terms: purposeful Translations (expressing purpose (grammar)): účelový [masculine] (Czech), účelový [masculine] (Slovak), intencional (Spanish)
Disambiguation of 'expressing purpose (grammar)': 18 10 18 18 18 19

Download JSON data for purposive meaning in English (7.8kB)

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        "(grammar) Of a clause or conjunction: expressing purpose."
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}
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          "text": "Irresistably it came to me again that beauty, far from being wasted, was purposive, that this purpose was of a redeeming kind, and that some one who was pleased co-operated with it for my personal benefit.",
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          "text": "Whenever she opened a scientific book and saw whole paragraphs of incomprehensible words and symbols, she felt a sense of wonder at the great territories of learning that lay beyond her—the sum of so many noble and purposive attempts to make objective sense of the world.",
          "type": "quotation"
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      ],
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          "type": "quotation"
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      "raw_glosses": [
        "(grammar) Of a clause or conjunction: expressing purpose."
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        "grammar",
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      "ipa": "/ˈpəːpəsɪv/",
      "tags": [
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    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈpɚpəsɪv/",
      "tags": [
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  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "cs",
      "lang": "Czech",
      "sense": "expressing purpose (grammar)",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "účelový"
    },
    {
      "code": "sk",
      "lang": "Slovak",
      "sense": "expressing purpose (grammar)",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "účelový"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "expressing purpose (grammar)",
      "word": "intencional"
    }
  ],
  "word": "purposive"
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-05-05 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-05-02 using wiktextract (f4fd8c9 and c9440ce). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

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