Purposeful — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

Purposeful (adjective) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

1. fully committed to achieving a goal

   "a soft-spoken but purposeful criminal investigator"

   similar: bent (on or upon), bound, decisive, determined, do-or-die, firm, hell-bent (on or upon), intent, out, resolute, resolved, set, single-minded, on one's mettle
   related: bitter, vehement, certain, cocksure, confident, positive, sure, earnest, serious, steady, unfaltering, unhesitating, unswerving, unwavering, adamant, adamantine, dogged, hard, hardened, hardheaded, headstrong, immovable, implacable, inflexible, mulish, obdurate, persistent, pertinacious, perverse, pigheaded, rigid, self-willed, stubborn, tenacious, unbending, uncompromising, unrelenting, unyielding, willful
   opposite: faltering, hesitant, indecisive, irresolute, undetermined, unresolved, vacillating, wavering, weak-kneed
   near: distrustful, doubtful, dubious, mistrustful, skeptical, suspicious, uncertain, unconvinced, undecided, unsettled, unsure, disinclined, indisposed, loath, reluctant

2. made, given, or done with full awareness of what one is doing

   "there's a difference between a purposeful lie and an accidental untruth"

   similar: conscious, deliberate, intended, intentional, knowing, purposive, set, voluntary, willed, willful, witting
   related: designed, planned, advised, calculated, considered, measured, reasoned, studied, thoughtful, weighed, premeditated, premeditative, prepense, discretionary, elective, optional, volunteer
   opposite: nondeliberate, nonpurposive, unintentional
   near: inadvertent, unwitting, accidental, chance, haphazard, hit-or-miss, incidental, random, aimless, desultory, purposeless, abrupt, impetuous, sudden, coerced, forced, involuntary, compulsory, mandatory, necessary, nonelective, obligatory, ordered, required, casual, extemporaneous, impromptu, impulsive, instinctive, spontaneous, unforced, unpremeditated