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Napoleonponapa Posted 17 years ago
Vocabulary
What is the differencces of " purposely , purposefully and knowingly?
1) He did that purposely.
2) he did that knowingly.
3) he did that purposefully.
what is the difference among them? I notice that adverb is derived usually from Adjective but in this case " purpose " is a noun . how come it becomes Adverb by just adding "ly" at the end? in what context do we use " knowingly".
Thanks so much
2) he did that knowingly.
3) he did that purposefully.
what is the difference among them? I notice that adverb is derived usually from Adjective but in this case " purpose " is a noun . how come it becomes Adverb by just adding "ly" at the end? in what context do we use " knowingly".
Thanks so much
Top answer
In the sense of "intentionally", "not by accident", the usual word, in everyday contexts, is "purposely" (just as common is "on purpose"). "Knowingly" can also be used in this sense, but it seems more formal -- the sort of word you might expect to see in a transcript of court proceedings, for example. " "The prosecution claimed that the defendant knowingly made a false declaration" "Knowingly" can also mean "in such a way as to indicate special knowledge or understanding of the situation".
- In the sense of "intentionally", "not by accident", the usual word, in everyday contexts, is "purposely" (just as common is "on purpose").
- "Knowingly" can also be used in this sense, but it seems more formal -- the sort of word you might expect to see in a transcript of court proceedings, for example.
- " "The prosecution claimed that the defendant knowingly made a false declaration" "Knowingly" can also mean "in such a way as to indicate special knowledge or understanding of the situation".
- For example, "He winked knowingly" doesn't mean "He winked intentionally", it means he winked because he knew what was going on.
- "Purposefully" means "in a purposeful manner", or "with purpose".
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5 Answers
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In the sense of "intentionally", "not by accident", the usual word, in everyday contexts, is "purposely" (just as common is "on purpose"). "Knowingly" can also be used in this sense, but it seems more formal -- the sort of word you might expect to see in a transcript of court proceedings, for example.
"You did that purposely, didn't you!"
"You did that on purpose, didn't you!"
"You did that purposely, didn't you!"
"You did that on purpose, didn't you!"
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I think "knowingly" makes the meaning become kind of negative (the action that has been done is bad or dishonest).
For the difference between "purposely" and "purposefully", you can say "purposely" = "on purpose" and "purposefully" = "with purpose".
- While organizing your documents on your computer, you accidentally deleted some files (maybe your pointer wasn't easy to control,
For the difference between "purposely" and "purposefully", you can say "purposely" = "on purpose" and "purposefully" = "with purpose".
- While organizing your documents on your computer, you accidentally deleted some files (maybe your pointer wasn't easy to control,
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I've asked one of my friends (he's living in canada) and he said that purposefully is rarely used there.
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little_catI think "knowingly" makes the meaning become kind of negative (the action that has been done is bad or dishonest).
"Purposely" can also have a negative/bad/dishonest meaning:
"You purposely broke that vase"
"You purposely short-changed me"
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It definitely adds a negative connotation when using knowingly. The major difference is between purposely and purposefully which is analogous to the difference between "on purpose" and "with purpose", respectively, as it says in the article. The different meanings in the prepositions give the words distinct meanings and uses.
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