‘Purposely’ vs. ‘purposefully’: What’s the difference?

What does ‘purposely’ mean?

To do something purposely means to do an action deliberately. The word is synonymous with intention and on purpose. These examples show you how to use the word correctly in a sentence.

• They purposely designed the apartment with wheelchair accessibility in mind.
• She purposely dropped the love letter next to his crush’s desk.
• I purposely don’t schedule meetings on Fridays so I can use that day to catch up on emails.
• It was like the painting of my late mother was purposely hung above my desk to mock me.
• The rule states that a player cannot purposely trip their opponent.
• The navy purposely sunk their own ship so the enemy couldn’t capture it.

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What does ‘purposefully’ mean?

To do something purposefully means to do something in a way that shows determination and resolve. Or if you flip the root words around, to do something full of purpose. Yes, it’s similar to the word purposely, but can you see how it’s different? To clarify further, read through these examples of the word purposefully used correctly in sentences.

• She purposefully sauntered up to her boss’s desk and slapped her resignation letter down on the desk.
• The painter purposefully used the color blue because it was the most expensive pigment to create, and the church that commissioned the piece had deep pockets.
• The dog purposefully laid at her owner’s feet to protect him.
• The gold medalist swims each race purposefully.
• The album’s song lineup was structured purposefully.
• The singer belted out the lyrics purposefully.

Are ‘purposely’ and ‘purposefully’ interchangeable?

Purposely and purposefully are so close in meaning that you can often use them interchangeably in the same sentence—grammatically speaking. However, you cannot use them interchangeably without also changing the sentence’s meaning. Look at these two sentences:

• Princess Diana purposely wore her black revenge dress.
• Princess Diana purposefully wore her black revenge dress.

Both sentences are grammatically correct, but the distinction between the two words changes the connotation and creates syntactic ambiguity.

In the first sentence, the use of purposely conveys that Princess Diana wore her black revenge dress on purpose. She didn’t just wear it because it was the first thing she saw in her closet; she picked it out to wear on this particular day for a distinct reason.

In the second sentence, the use of purposefully conveys that Princess Diana wore her black revenge dress with purpose. She didn’t carry herself like it was any other day, she carried herself with a posture and countenance of purposeful resolve.

Test if ‘purposely’ or ‘purposefully’ is the right word choice

Need a good proofreading tip to keep these words straight? Ask yourself two questions throughout the editing process to double-check your word choices.

• Can I replace the word purposely with intentionally and the sentence will remain the same?

If the answer is yes, then use the word purposely.

• Is the subject doing the action in a way that shows determination and resolve?

If the answer is yes, then use the word purposefully.

Simply remember that purposely means on purpose and purposefully means full of purpose, and you can use both words with confidence. These aren’t the only words people get stuck on. Learn the difference between principal and principle and the difference between insure and ensure.