Key Difference: Aim and purpose are two words and have two different meanings. Before understanding the meanings of these words, we need to know one thing, that is, Aim and Purpose are both used as a Verb and nouns. The aim is a target towards which you work or a goal to be achieved. The term purpose refers to the result for which you want to work or do something for a reason. In this guide, we will learn the contradictions between the words “Aim” and “Purpose.”
Aim: What is your aim in life?
Purpose: What is the purpose of life?
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Aim:
The aim is a target to be achieved
The aim is nothing but having the intention of achieving something. In other words, the aim is a target need to be achieved. It can be used either as a noun or a verb. Every people have some aim or goal in life. It makes them work hard and improve their skills. Let’s see an example sentence to understand it clearly. The child said, My aim is to be a dentist. In this sentence, the child set his/her goal to become a dentist in the future. We come up with one more example, His aim in life is to save money. This statement determined that he had the intention of saving money.
How Do We Spell the Word Aim?
Phonetics pronunciation of the word Aim is eɪm. And this word sounds like the following audio.
Enunciation:
Syllables are phonological building blocks of words. It divides the words into parts that can help you read words more accurately. Let’s see how to split the word “Aim” using syllables. Learning syllables can also help you to spell words correctly.
- The word “Aim” has one syllable.
- It cannot be divided.
Tense Form of the Word Aim:
The following table will show you three fundamental tense forms and their example sentences for your reference.
| Present | Past | Past Participle |
|---|---|---|
| aim | aimed | aimed |
| My aim is it become a lawyer when I grow up. Is your aim good? | The hunter aimed at the bird. The policeman aimed a gun at the thieves. | It was a well-aimed shot. The TV shows are aimed to attract kids. |
More Examples:
- Aim the gun at the target.
- He does not have a specific aim.
- I aim to be a story writer.
- Riya always aims for perfection.
- He failed to understand my aim.
Purpose:
Doing something for a reason
The word purpose refers to the reason for which something is done. In other words, Purpose refers to planning or intention to do something. Let’s see an example sentence of this word. The purpose of doing exercise every morning is to be healthy. In this sentence, we might understand that we will lead a healthy life if we do exercise every morning. To say another example, what is the purpose of your education?. In this question, someone is asked about the purpose of education.
How Do We Spell the Word Purpose?
Phonetics pronunciation of the word Purpose is ˈpəːpəs. And this word sounds like the following audio.
Enunciation:
Syllabification refers to the process of division of words into smaller parts. It is commonly known as syllables. With its help, you can easily read and spell the word accurately. Here, you will see how to split the word “Purpose” by syllables.
- The word “Purpose” has two syllables.
- It can be divided into “Pur-pose.”
Tense Form of the Word Purpose:
The below-given table will show you three fundamental tense forms with some example sentences for your understanding.
| Present | Past | Past Participle |
|---|---|---|
| purpose | purposed | purposed |
| She made a mistake on purpose. Everyone has a purpose. | The meeting purposed to organize the things that are not in the order. Awareness programs are purposed for enlightening our minds. | All the people should lead a purposed life. He purposed to follow the protocols in the company. |
More Examples:
- What is the purpose of your visit?
- I think Jerry did that on purpose.
- The purpose of life is to be happy.
- Diana achieved her purpose.
- He explained the purpose of the project.
Compare: Aim Vs Purpose
This table will show you the contradiction between the words Aim and Purpose.
| Aim | Purpose | |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | It refers to the target that needs to be achieved. | It refers to planning or intention to do something. |
| Synonyms | focus, direct, point, level, position, sight | motive, cause, reason, goal, object, intention, use, value, merit, gain, profit, outcome, benefit |
| Antonyms | dislike, hatred, aimlessness, hate, neglect, thoughtlessness, purposelessness | irrelevant, worthlessness, needlessness, pointlessness |
| Parts of Speech | verb, noun | verb, noun |
| Etymology | Middle English: from Old French amer, variant of esmer | Middle English: from Old French porpos, from the verb porposer, variant of proposer |
| Examples | That magazine is aimed at school children. My dad always insists to aim high. Aim the video camera at the group of people. | What is my purpose in doing this work? She broke the TV on purpose. He did not do it on purpose. |
Resources and References:
Resources: Cambridge Dictionary (Aim, Purpose), Merriam-Webster (Aim, Purpose), Collins Dictionary (Aim, Purpose), Dictionary.com (Aim, Purpose)
Reference: Dictionary.Cambridge.org[1], Merriam-Webster.com[2][3], Dictionary.com[4].