purposely
pur·pose·ly/ˈpɝpəsli/adverb
purposely is spelled P-U-R-P-O-S-E-L-Y: 9 letters and 3 syllables (pur·pose·ly). It appears 2.8 times per million words in written English, the 16,228th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “purposefully vs purposely” about 40 times a month (Bing, United States). As an adverb, purposely means “On purpose; intentionally” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in purposely?
| Letters | 9: P-U-R-P-O-S-E-L-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: pur·pose·ly |
| In writing | 2.8 times per million words; the 16,228th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How common is purposely?
Purposely appears 2.8 times per million words in written English, the 16,228th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce purposely?
- US /ˈpɝpəsli/
- UK /ˈpɜːpəsli/
Purposely has 3 syllables, split pur·pose·ly in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-purposely.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with purposely
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of purposely
- more purposely comparative
- most purposely superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does purposely mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adverb
- 1
On purpose; intentionally.
I purposely left the door unlocked.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Purposely in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense on purpose; intentionally – see also on purpose, intentionally:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | exprès |
| German | absichtlich |
| Portuguese | propositadamente |
| Spanish | intencionadamente, aposta, a propósito |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does purposely come from?
From Middle English purposly; equivalent to purpose + -ly.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).