-siv adjective
Etymology: purpose (II) + -ive
1. : serving or effecting a useful end or function though not necessarily as a result of deliberate design
a work of art may be without a purpose, yet purposive
2. : having, constituting, or tending to fulfill a conscious purpose or design : purposeful
purposive action
3. : of or relating to purposivism
purposive psychology
• pur·pos·ive·ly -sə̇vlē, -li adverb
• pur·pos·ive·ness -sivnə̇s noun -es