purposive

/ˈpəːpəsɪv/

//ˈpəːpəsɪv// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"purposive" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“purposive” is uncommon English (frequency #98,612 among 4,417 “P” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#98,612
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Serving a particular purpose; useful; adapted to a given purpose, especially through natural evolution.

Corpus desk

Index EN-purposive · purposive · English

purposive · rank #98,612 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #98,612
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH puce

Nearest frequency peer: puce (-2 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “purposive”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “purposive” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for purposive
PropertyValue
Headwordpurposive
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈpəːpəsɪv/
Letters9
Frequency rank#98,612
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “purposive” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).purposivefalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “puce” (#98,610), “publishable” (#98,609), “qasr” (#98,615). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “purposive” is #98,612. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

purposive is uncommon English at frequency #98,612 among 4,417 “P” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˈpəːpəsɪv/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 6 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for purposive, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Etymologically, the entry records: From purpose + -ive. Compare purpositive. The correct English form is purposive, spelled P-U-R-P-O-S-I-V-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Serving a particular purpose; useful; adapted to a given purpose, especially through natural evolution.
  2. 2
    Done or performed with a conscious purpose or intent.
  3. 3
    Pertaining to purpose, as reflected in behaviour or mental activity.
  4. 4
    Pertaining to or demonstrating purpose.
  5. 5
    Possessed of a firm purpose.
  6. 6
    Of a clause or conjunction: expressing purpose.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how purposive appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Irresistably it came to me again that beauty, far from being wasted, was purposive, that this purpose was of a redeeming kind, and that some one who was pleased co-operated with it for my personal benefit.
  2. As we saw in our discussion of the FAKE GUN example in chapter 19, there are natural dimensions to our categories for objects: […] purposive, based on the uses we can make of an object in a given situation.

Etymology

From purpose + -ive. Compare purpositive.

This word in other languages

intencional(Español)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "purposive"?
"purposive" is spelled P-U-R-P-O-S-I-V-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpəːpəsɪv/.
What does "purposive" mean?
As an adjective, "purposive" means: Serving a particular purpose; useful; adapted to a given purpose, especially through natural evolution.
How do you pronounce "purposive"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "purposive" is /ˈpəːpəsɪv/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "purposive"?
From purpose + -ive. Compare purpositive. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "purposive", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Rarotonga#98,628reacquire#98,631recension#98,636retarding#98,648

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list