1.
Deliberately, intentionally, as in He left the photo out of the story on purpose. Shakespeare's use of this idiom was among the earliest; it appears in The Comedy of Errors (4:3): "On purpose shut the doors against his way."
2.
accidentally on purpose. Seemingly accidentally but actually deliberately, as in She stepped on his foot accidentally on purpose. This generally jocular phrase was first recorded in 1862.
on purpose
| Idioms: on purpose |
| WordNet: on purpose |
Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.
The adverb has one meaning:
Meaning #1:
with intention; in an intentional manner
Synonyms: intentionally, deliberately, designedly, purposely, advisedly, by choice, by design
| Shopping: on purpose |
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 | Adams, Sheryl (Quotes By) |
| adrift |
| Hartmann, Van (Quotes By) |
 | What was its purpose? Read answer... |
| What is the purpose of? Read answer... |
| What is the difference between purposely and purposefully? Read answer... |
Help us answer these
 | What was their purpose? |
| For what purpose? |
| What is purposefulness? |
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Copyrights:
 |
 | Idioms. The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| WordNet. WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. Read more |
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Mentioned in
- Adams, Sheryl (Quotes By)
- adrift
- Hartmann, Van (Quotes By)
- Leavitt, Theodore (Quotes By)
