on purpose
259
1.6
- idiom
- /ɑn ˈpɜr.pəs/
- He apologized for his mistake, saying he had not done it on purpose.
- doing it on purpose
- hurt on purpose
- harmed themselves on purpose
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Watch on YouTubeMaybe they did it on purpose, maybe they didn't.
- Maybe they did it on purpose, maybe they didn't.
- And, and it was done on purpose to create total confusion.
- But when you go pop on purpose, that's not good.
- People can, people can act on purpose even within an absurd world.
- They go there week in week out to lose pretty much on purpose to feed their families.
- Like I did that on purpose and said, ah, there's nothing.
- It's almost like I was doing it on purpose the whole time.
- I am fearful that I'm doing it on purpose to not let them be hungrier than me.
- And a lot of people just do that on purpose to take it.
- They actually facilitated his rise to prominence on purpose so they could control the business.
Examples
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As a toddler I broke my finger on purpose to copy my sister.
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You did that on purpose.
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And that if you did that on purpose, that was a great choice.
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Are you doing it on purpose at this point?
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It's almost like I was doing it on purpose the whole time.
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I did this yes on purpose for you guys.
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You knew I liked him, and you went after him on purpose.
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Were we brought here on purpose?
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Anything is okay, as long as it looks like it was done on purpose.
Academic text (2005) -
Well, we did that on purpose because we didn't want that.
Synonyms
270
3.7
To do something on purpose and with care
175
3.1
In a way that someone does something on purpose, not by accident
73
3.9
In a way that shows you know and do it on purpose
70
3.5
To do something on purpose
51
3.1
Someone does this because they decide to, not because they must
40
4.0
On purpose as part of a plan
30
3.9
To act in a determined way to reach a clear goal
3
7.4
In a careful way after thinking about what might happen
3
7.5
In a way that shows you know what you are doing
1
7.7
On purpose to say or do something
1
8.2
Carefully and on purpose
Antonyms
How Intentional
259
1.6
29
3.4
Surface Forms
Morphology
on + purpose
The phrase combines 'purpose' (reason/intention) with the preposition 'on' to yield the sense 'with purpose' or 'intentionally', so the overall meaning is directly inferable from its parts. This compositional pattern is cross-linguistically common (e.g., Spanish 'a propósito', French 'exprès/à dessein'), so a B1 learner who knows the constituents would typically understand it.
Etymology
On purpose comes from the simple idea of doing something with a clear aim, being on a chosen purpose. Imagine aiming at a target and hitting it 'on purpose'—that's why it means 'intentionally', not 'by accident'.