ALL-PURPOSE Synonyms: 30 Similar and Opposite Words

all-purpose

adjective

ˈȯl-ˈpər-pəs

Definition of all-purpose

as in unlimited

not limited or specialized in application or purpose there's nothing wrong with all-purpose flour for baking bread, but flour with more gluten is better

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of all-purpose Orange Coast halfback Mike Hunter sparked the Pirates with his all-purpose running, including three of the longest punt returns in OCC history — 89, 67 and 66 yards. — Richard Dunn, Oc Register, 6 Aug. 2026 Remove from heat and add ¼ cup all-purpose flour, whisking constantly until a paste forms. — Inés Anguiano, Bon Appetit Magazine, 6 Aug. 2026 The 24-year-old product of the University of Texas led the NFL with 2,298 all-purpose yards last year, and no player has more than his 5,648 yards from scrimmage in the last three years. — Josh Kendall, New York Times, 4 Aug. 2026 Or his unanimous All-American selection as an all-purpose back and returner in 2005. — Connor Dullinger, Los Angeles Times, 3 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for all-purpose

Recent Examples of Synonyms for all-purpose

Adjective

The account includes 16GB of NVMe SSD storage and unlimited bandwidth.

— StackCommerce Team, PC Magazine, 19 Aug. 2026
But with no enforceable salary cap and unlimited player movement, every year can be wildly different.

— Chris Vannini, New York Times, 18 Aug. 2026

Definition of unlimited

Adjective

But it was decided this would not happen following a meeting between Mourinho, Real Madrid’s general manager Jose Angel Sanchez, head of scouting Juni Calafat and Mourinho’s agent Jorge Mendes at the Santo Mauro Hotel in central Madrid.

— Guillermo Rai, New York Times, 19 Aug. 2026
The group said the average consumer spend for parts at a dealer was $261, versus $275 at a general repair shop.

— Robert Ferris, CNBC, 19 Aug. 2026

Definition of general

Adjective

Amazon still sells it as a general-purpose category covering servers, containers and serverless code.

— Robert J. Szczerba, Forbes.com, 23 Aug. 2026
Brain cells at work Traditional data centers rely on silicon processors and general-purpose Central Processing Units (CPUs).

— Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 21 Aug. 2026

Definition of general-purpose

Browse Nearby Words

all-powerful

all-purpose

all right

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“All-purpose.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/all-purpose. Accessed 25 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of all-purpose

adjective

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