Allen165
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- Joined
- Aug 8, 2009
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- Student or Learner
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- English
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- Canada
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- Switzerland
"Usage: Purposefully is sometimes wrongly used where purposely is meant: he had purposely (not purposefully) left the door unlocked." (Source: purposeful - definition of purposeful by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia..)
I don't think it would be wrong to write, "He had purposefully left the door unlocked."
Here's what Bryan A. Garner has to say about "purposefully" and "purposely."
"Something done purposely is done with intent, on purpose <the defendant purposely ran the red light>. Something done purposefully is done with a definite purpose in mind <the stalker purposefully collected information about the model>." (Source: The Redbook: A Manual on Legal Style, 2nd ed., p. 265.)
So leaving the door purposefully unlocked would mean leaving it unlocked with a specific purpose in mind. That purpose could be to allow someone to enter the house, but we don't know what the purpose is. In other words, "purposefully" tells us that the act itself - leaving the door unlocked - might not be the ultimate purpose. "Purposely" doesn't provide this piece of information. Do you agree?
Thanks!
I don't think it would be wrong to write, "He had purposefully left the door unlocked."
Here's what Bryan A. Garner has to say about "purposefully" and "purposely."
"Something done purposely is done with intent, on purpose <the defendant purposely ran the red light>. Something done purposefully is done with a definite purpose in mind <the stalker purposefully collected information about the model>." (Source: The Redbook: A Manual on Legal Style, 2nd ed., p. 265.)
So leaving the door purposefully unlocked would mean leaving it unlocked with a specific purpose in mind. That purpose could be to allow someone to enter the house, but we don't know what the purpose is. In other words, "purposefully" tells us that the act itself - leaving the door unlocked - might not be the ultimate purpose. "Purposely" doesn't provide this piece of information. Do you agree?
Thanks!