purpose (redirected from purposes)

pur·pose  (pûrps)

n.

1. The object toward which one strives or for which something exists; an aim or a goal: "And ever those, who would enjoyment gain/Must find it in the purpose they pursue" Sarah Josepha Hale.

2. A result or effect that is intended or desired; an intention. See Synonyms at intention.

3. Determination; resolution: He was a man of purpose.

4. The matter at hand; the point at issue.

tr.v. pur·posed, pur·pos·ing, pur·pos·es

To intend or resolve to perform or accomplish.

Idioms:

on purpose

Intentionally; deliberately.

to good purpose

With good results.

to little/no purpose

With few or no results.

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[Middle English purpos, from Anglo-Norman, from purposer, to intend : pur-, forth (from Latin pr-; see pro-¹) + poser, to put; see pose¹.]

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purpose

Noun

1. the reason for which anything is done, created, or exists

2. a fixed design or idea that is the object of an action

3. determination: his easy manner only lightly conceals a clear sense of purpose

4. practical advantage or use: we debated senseless points of dogma for hours to no fruitful purpose

5. on purpose intentionally

Verb

[-posing, -posed]

to intend or determine to do (something) [Old French porposer to plan]

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	purpose - an anticipated outcome that is intended or that guides your planned actions; "his intent was to provide a new translation"; "good intentions are not enough"; "it was created with the conscious aim of answering immediate needs"; "he made no secret of his designs" aim, intent, intention, design goal, end - the state of affairs that a plan is intended to achieve and that (when achieved) terminates behavior intended to achieve it; "the ends justify the means" idea, mind - your intention; what you intend to do; "he had in mind to see his old teacher"; "the idea of the game is to capture all the pieces" cross-purpose - a contrary aim; "at cross-purposes" final cause - (philosophy) the end or purpose of a thing or process sake - the purpose of achieving or obtaining; "for the sake of argument" view - purpose; the phrase `with a view to' means `with the intention of' or `for the purpose of'; "he took the computer with a view to pawning it" will - a fixed and persistent intent or purpose; "where there's a will there's a way"
	2.	purpose - what something is used for; "the function of an auger is to bore holes"; "ballet is beautiful but what use is it?" function, use, role usefulness, utility - the quality of being of practical use raison d'etre - the purpose that justifies a thing's existence
	3.	purpose - the quality of being determined to do or achieve something; firmness of purpose; "his determination showed in his every movement"; "he is a man of purpose" determination firmness of purpose, resoluteness, resolve, firmness, resolution - the trait of being resolute; "his resoluteness carried him through the battle"; "it was his unshakeable resolution to finish the work" persistency, pertinacity, tenaciousness, tenacity, doggedness, perseverance, persistence - persistent determination indefatigability, indefatigableness, tirelessness - tireless determination industriousness, diligence, industry - persevering determination to perform a task; "his diligence won him quick promotions"; "frugality and industry are still regarded as virtues"
Verb	1.	purpose - propose or intend; "I aim to arrive at noon" aim, purport, propose intend, mean, think - have in mind as a purpose; "I mean no harm"; "I only meant to help you"; "She didn't think to harm me"; "We thought to return early that night"
	2.	purpose - reach a decision; "he resolved never to drink again" resolve decide, make up one's mind, determine - reach, make, or come to a decision about something; "We finally decided after lengthy deliberations"

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purpose

noun 1. reason, point, idea, goal, grounds, design, aim, basis, principle, function, object, intention, objective, motive, motivation, justification, impetus, the why and wherefore

noun 2. aim, end, plan, hope, view, goal, design, project, target, wish, scheme, desire, object, intention, objective, ambition, aspiration, Holy Grail (informal)

noun 3. determination, commitment, resolve, will, resolution, initiative, enterprise, ambition, conviction, motivation, persistence, tenacity, firmness, constancy, single-mindedness, steadfastness

noun 4. use, good, return, result, effect, value, benefit, profit, worth, gain, advantage, outcome, utility, merit, mileage (informal) avail, behoof (archaic) >> on purpose deliberately, purposely, consciously, intentionally, knowingly, wilfully, by design, wittingly, calculatedly, designedly

USAGE The two concepts purposeful and on purpose should be carefully distinguished. On purpose and purposely have roughly the same meaning, and imply that a person's action is deliberate, rather than accidental. However, purposeful and its related adverb purposefully refer to the way that someone acts as being full of purpose or determination.

Translations

purpose [ˈpəːpəs] n → propósito;

on purpose → a propósito, adrede;

to no purpose → para nada, en vano;

for teaching purposes → con fines pedagógicos;

for the purposes of this meeting → para los fines de esta reunión

purpose [ˈpəːpəs] n → intention f, but m;

on purpose → exprès;

for illustrative purposes → à titre d'illustration;

for teaching purposes → dans un but pédagogique;

for the purposes of this meeting → pour cette réunion;

to no purpose → en pure perte

purpose [ˈpəːpəs] n (reason) → Zweck m (= aim); Ziel nt, Absicht f;

on purpose → absichtlich;

for illustrative purposes → zu Illustrationszwecken;

for all practical purposes → praktisch (gesehen);

for the purposes of this meeting → zum Zweck dieses Treffens;

to little purpose → mit wenig Erfolg;

to no purpose → ohne Erfolg;

a sense of purpose → ein Zielbewusstsein nt

purpose [ˈpəːpəs] n → intenzione f; scopo;

on purpose → apposta, di proposito;

for illustrative purposes → a titolo illustrativo;

for teaching purposes → per l'insegnamento;

for the purposes of this meeting → agli effetti di questa riunione;

to no purpose → senza nessun risultato, inutilmente

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purpose

n purpose [ˈpəːpəs]

1 the reason for doing something; the aim to which an action etc is directed What is the purpose of your visit? doel قَصْد، هَدَف причина účel, smysl formål der Zweck σκοπός propósito,fin; razón eesmärk مقصود؛ هدف tarkoitus but, objet מַטָרָה उद्देश्य, प्रयोजन cél tujuan tilgangur scopo 目的 목적, 의도 tikslas mērķis; nolūks tujuan bedoeling formål, hensikt, mening cel propósito scop, obiectiv цель účel, zmysel namen svrha syfte, avsikt วัตถุประสงค์ amaç, gaye 目的 намір, мета مقصد mục đích 目的

2 the use or function of an object The purpose of this lever is to stop the machine in an emergency. doel وَظيفَة، غَرَض употреба funkce formål der Zweck σκοπός, λειτουργία función, uso, utilidad ülesanne هدف tehtävä utilité מַטָרָה परिणाम cél, funkció fungsi hlutverk funzione 用途 용도 paskirtis pielietojums; nolūks fungsi functie formål, funksjon zadanie, funkcja finalidade utilitate назначение funkcia namen namena funktion หน้าที่ yarar, fayda 效果，作用 призначення فائدہ، کام chức năng 效果，作用

3 determination a man of purpose. doelgerigtheid عَزْم، تَصْميم воля rozhodnost beslutsomhed die Entschlußkraft αποφασιστικότητα determinación sihikindlus عزم؛ اراده määrätietoisuus détermination נְחִישוּת संकल्प szándék, eltökéltség tekad stefnufesta, ákveðni determinazione 決意 결심, 결의 ryžtas mērķtiecība azam vastberadenheid målbevissthet, besluttsomhet stanowczość determinação voinţă; hotărâre целеустремлённость rozhodnosť odločnost cilj beslutsamhet, målmedvetenhet การสรุปผล azim, karar 意志，決心 цілеспрямованість, воля عزم و حوصلہ quyết tâm 意志，决心

adj ˈpurposeful

having a definite purpose with a purposeful look on his face. vasberade هادِف إلى، ذو مَغْزى целенасочен odhodlaný målbevidst zielbewußt αποφασιστικός determinado sihikindel مصمم määrätietoinen déterminé תַכלִיתִי दृढ़ संकल्प eltökélt bertujuan stefnufastur deciso, risoluto きっぱりとした 목적이 있는; 의미 심장한 ryžtingas mērķtiecīgs penuh azam vastberaden målbevisst, bestemt celowy determinado ho­tă­rât целеустремлённый odhodlaný odločen odlučan målmedveten ซึงมีจุดประสงค์ kararlı, azimli 有目的的 цілеспрямований بامقصد có chủ định 有目的的

adv ˈpurposefully

vasberade بصورةٍ هادِفَه، بِمَغْزى целенасочено odhodlaně målbevidst zielbewußt αποφασιστικά con determinación sihikindlalt قاطعانه päättäväisesti délibérément בְהֶּחלֵטִיוּת सोद्देश्यता से, संकल्प के साथ eltökélten dengan tujuan af stefnufestu con determinazione きっぱりと 단호히 ryžtingai mērķtiecīgi dgn azam yg kuat vastberaden målbevisst, bestemt celowo com determinação (în mod) deliberat; dinadins целеустремлённо odhodlane odločno odlučno målmedvetet อย่างมีวัตถุประสงค์ kararla, azimle 有目的 цілеспрямовано بامقصد طور پر có chủ định 有目的

adj ˈpurposeless

having no purpose purposeless destruction. doelloos دون هَدَف، دون غايَة أو مَغْزى безцелен zbytečný meningsløs ziellos άσκοπος, χωρίς νόημα sin sentido; sin propósito sihitu بی هدف tarkoitukseton inutile חֲסַר מַטָרָה निरूद्देश्यता से céltalan tanpa tujuan tilgangslaus inutile 目的のない 목적이 없는 betikslis bezjēdzīgs; bezmērķīgs tdk bererti zinloos formålsløs, unyttig bezcelowy sem finalidade inutil, fără rost бесцельный; бессмысленный zbytočný nesmiseln uzaludan meningslös อย่างไร้จุดประสงค์ amaçsız, maksatsız 無目的的 безцільний بے مقصد không chủ định 无目的的

adv ˈpurposely

intentionally He did it purposely to attract my attention. doelbewus قَصْدا، عَمْدا нарочно záměrně med vilje vorsätzlich επίτηδες a propósito, expresamente nimme عمداً tieten tahtoen exprès בְּכַווָנָה जानबूझकर szándékosan dengan sengaja af ásettu ráði di proposito, apposta わざと 고의로, 의도적으로 tyčia ar nodomu/nolūku dgn sengaja opzettelijk med vilje/hensikt celowo de propósito (în mod) ex­pres; dinadins нарочно zámerne namenoma namerno avsiktligt อย่างจงใจ bilerek, kasten 特意地，故意地 спеціально; навмисно جان بوجھ کر có chủ định 特意地，故意地

adj ˌpurpose-ˈbuilt

made or built for a particular need or purpose People who use wheelchairs sometimes live in purpose-built houses. doelgebou مبْني لِهَدَفٍ مُعَيَّن специално направен účelový specialbygget spezialgefertigt ειδικής κατασκευής construido especialmente (para) kindlal eesmärgil ehitatud برای منظور خاصی ساخته شده tiettyyn tarkoitukseen suunniteltu fonctionnalisé נִבנָה לְמַטָרָה speciális dibangun khusus sérbyggður (costruito appositamente) 特注の (특정 목적을 위해) 특별히 건립된 specialiai pastatytas īpaša pasūtījuma- dibina khas speciaal gebouwd spesialbygd, tilrettelagt specjalnie przystosowany de construção especial amenajat изготовленный для специальных целей účelový namenski namenski građen specialbyggd ทำขึ้นตามความประสงค์ amaca uygun yapılmış 特意製作的，專用的 спеціально побудований کسي خاص مقصد سے بنايا ہوا được làm với mục đích nhất định 特意制作的，专用的

on purpose

intentionally Did you break the cup on purpose? aspris عَمْدا، عَن قَصْد нарочно úmyslně med vilje absichtlich επίτηδες a propósito, adrede sihilikult عمداً tahallaan exprès בְּכַווָנָה जानबूझकर इरादतन szándékosan dengan sengaja viljandi apposta わざと 고의로, 일부러 tyčia tīši; ar nodomu dgn sengaja met opzet med vilje/forsett umyślnie de propósito dinadins нарочно úmyselne namenoma namerno avsiktligt, med flit อย่างตั้งใจ kasten, mahsus 故意地，為了 спеціально; навмисно جان بوجھ کر cố tình 故意地，为了

serve a purpose

to be useful in some way. dien 'n doel يَفي بالغَرَض имам употреба posloužit k tjene et formål zweckdienlich sein εξυπηρετώ κπ. σκοπό servir de/para algo kasulik olema به درد بخور olla hyödyksi servir à qqch. לְשָרֵת בְּכַווָנָה किसी रूप में उपयोगी होना megfelel céljának berguna gegna hlutverki servire a uno scopo 目的にかなう 목적에 들어맞다, 소용에 닿다 tikti noderēt; atbilst mērķim dapat digunakan ergens toedienen tjene et formål nadawać się ter utilidade a servi la ceva годиться poslúžiť na služiti (čemu) poslužiti svrsi tjäna ett syfte เป็นประโยชน์ amaca uygun olmak 對...適合，對...有用 служити певній меті مفيد ہونا có ích 对...适合，对...有用

to no purpose

with no useful results. dien geen doel nie بِدون فائِدَه، بِدون نتيجَةٍ مُفيدَه без резултат bez užitku til ingen nytte vergeblich άσκοπα, ανώφελα en vano tulemusteta بیهوده tuloksetta en pure perte לְלא תוֹצָאוֹת תַכלִיתִיוֹת व्यर्थ, निरुद्देश्य, निष्प्रयोजन hiába tanpa hasil árangurslaust (senza alcun risultato) むだに 전연 헛되이 tuščiai, veltui bez panākumiem; veltīgi tdk berkesan tevergeefs til ingen nytte bezskutecznie em vão fără rost напрасно bez úžitku zaman bez uspeha till ingen nytta ไม่เกิดประโยชน์ boş yere, nafile 不得要領的，不合適的 марно; даремно بلا وجہ، بے فائدہ vô ích 不得要领的，不合适的