How to Use purposely in a Sentence

purposely

adverb
Definition of purposelynext
Synonyms for purposelynext
  • The oak floors and white wall behind the bed are purposely left bare.
    — Catherine Hong, Better Homes & Gardens, 10 Aug. 2023
  • 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
  • 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
  • Did your purposely pick songs people wouldn’t expect to hear from you?
    — Dana Rose Falcone, Peoplemag, 14 Dec. 2023
  • Not that Noah is now purposely testing out melodies to his dad for future album use.
    — Rodney Ho, ajc, 22 July 2022
  • In addition, the cables have been purposely left dangling at the back in a nod to the original arcade games.
    — Demetrius Simms, Robb Report, 30 Jan. 2024
  • And that’s exactly how the evening felt, purposely perfect.
    — Eliseé Browchuk, Vogue, 4 Aug. 2023
  • Life is hard enough without purposely messing with a person's head and heart.
    — Stacey Grant, Seventeen, 30 Mar. 2023
  • But the approach would end up prompting accusations that Biden’s team had purposely kept the public in the dark.
    — Anchorage Daily News, 18 Jan. 2023
  • Authorities believe the tire had been placed there purposely so Jared would have to stop.
    — Michael Nardi, NBC News, 16 Mar. 2023
  • In 1932, one pilot purposely flew her plane into a floating Tom-Cat in hopes of catching it.
    — Janaya Wecker, Good Housekeeping, 14 Nov. 2022
  • Rules don't change until there's a movement big enough to purposely break them and show why something is better.
    — Colin Lodewick, Fortune, 26 Apr. 2022
  • The gold-standard study, called a human challenge study, involves purposely giving people a dose of the pathogen.
    — WIRED, 19 Nov. 2023
  • Regardless, Ayton missed the first attempt, then purposely missed the second in hopes of a Suns putback score.
    — oregonlive, 22 Oct. 2022
  • Tears, rain, squinting, sneezing, even purposely trying to smudge it with my hands and fingers.
    — Melanie Rud, Peoplemag, 16 Dec. 2022
  • Team Trump lying once again and purposely taking @RonDeSantis out of context.
    — Prem Thakker, The New Republic, 18 July 2023
  • But a subset of workers is purposely going in on the days most of their colleagues prefer to stay home—Mondays and Fridays.
    — Katherine Bindley, WSJ, 26 Aug. 2022
  • Savannah is a river town, and nowhere embraces this like the Thompson, purposely set back from the water and fronted by green space.
    — Travel + Leisure, 12 Apr. 2022
  • Some styles of wine such as Sherry and Madeira are purposely made in an oxidative style that gives them pleasant nut flavors.
    — Mike Desimone and Jeff Jenssen, Robb Report, 21 Feb. 2023
  • The couple purposely kept a low profile during their visit, a source who knows Meghan and Harry told People in June.
    — Alyssa Bailey, ELLE, 19 July 2022
  • The logs could be doctored or altered, or purposely devised to not showcase the details clearly.
    — Lance Eliot, Forbes, 1 Aug. 2022
  • The developer purposely made Forté’s penthouse a blank slate, so that the future owner (a.k.a. you) could design it to taste.
    — Emma Reynolds, Robb Report, 20 Mar. 2023
  • The preppy two-piece truly would fit right into Barbie Land; the film’s set purposely had a Palm Springs aesthetic.
    — Alyssa Bailey, ELLE, 1 Aug. 2023

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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