Decide vs Purpose - What's the difference?
decide | purpose | Related terms |
To resolve (a contest, problem, dispute, etc.); to choose, determine, or settle.
* Shakespeare
To make a judgment, especially after deliberation.
* Bible, 1 Kings xx. 40
To cause someone to come to a decision.
* 1920 , , "The Adventure of the Three Gables" (Norton edition, 2005, p. 1537),
(obsolete) To cut off; to separate.
* Fuller
An object to be reached; a target; an aim; a goal.
* {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-07, author=
, volume=188, issue=26, page=6, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly)
, title= A result that is desired; an intention.
The act of intending to do something; resolution; determination.
* 2013 , Phil McNulty, "[http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/23830980]", BBC Sport , 1 September 2013:
* {{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=July-August, author=
, title= The subject of discourse; the point at issue.
The reason for which something is done, or the reason it is done in a particular way.
(obsolete) Instance; example.
Have set as one's purpose; resolve to accomplish; intend; plan.
* Macaulay
(passive ) Designed for some purpose.
(obsolete) To have a purpose or intention; to discourse.
In transitive terms the difference between decide and purpose
is that decide is to cause someone to come to a decision while purpose is (passive) Designed for some purpose.In obsolete terms the difference between decide and purpose
is that decide is to cut off; to separate while purpose is instance; example.As a noun purpose is
an object to be reached; a target; an aim; a goal.decide
English
Verb
(decid)- The election will be decided on foreign policies.
- We must decide our next move.
- Her last-minute goal decided the game.
- The quarrel toucheth none but us alone; / Betwixt ourselves let us decide it then.
- You must decide between good and evil.
- I have decided that it is healthier to walk to work.
- So shall thy judgment be; thyself hast decided it.
- It decides me to look into the matter, for if it is worth anyone's while to take so much trouble, there must be something in it.
- Our seat denies us traffic here; / The sea, too near, decides us from the rest.
Usage notes
* This is a catenative verb that takes the to infinitive . SeeSynonyms
* make up one's mind * choose * determine * pickpurpose
English
Etymology 1
From (etyl) .Noun
(en noun)Ed Pilkington
‘Killer robots’ should be banned in advance, UN told, passage=In his submission to the UN, [Christof] Heyns points to the experience of drones. Unmanned aerial vehicles were intended initially only for surveillance, and their use for offensive purposes was prohibited, yet once strategists realised their perceived advantages as a means of carrying out targeted killings, all objections were swept out of the way.}}
- United began with more purpose in the early phase of the second half and Liverpool were grateful for Glen Johnson's crucial block from Young's goalbound shot.
Sarah Glaz
Ode to Prime Numbers, volume=101, issue=4, magazine=(American Scientist) , passage=Some poems, echoing the purpose of early poetic treatises on scientific principles, attempt to elucidate the mathematical concepts that underlie prime numbers. Others play with primes’ cultural associations. Still others derive their structure from mathematical patterns involving primes.}}
- (Spenser)
- The purpose of turning off the lights overnight is to save energy.
Synonyms
* (target ): aim, goal, object, target * (intention ): aim, plan, intention * (determination ): determination, intention, resolution * (subject of discourse ): matter, subject, topic * (reason for doing something ): reason * See alsoDerived terms
(terms derived from purpose) * all-purpose * common purpose * cross-purpose * fit for purpose * for all intents and purposes * game with a purpose * general-purpose * infinitive of purpose * multi-purpose * metapurpose * purpose-built * purposeful * purposeless * purpose-like * purpose loan * purposely * purpose statement * on purposeEtymology 2
From (etyl)Verb
(purpos)- I purpose to write the history of England from the accession of King James the Second down to a time which is within the memory of men still living.
- (Spenser)