Cross Purposes

Synonyms of cross purposes

• conflicting aims
• opposing objectives
• contradictory goals

Antonyms of cross purposes

• common purpose
• shared goal
• aligned objectives

Collocations of cross purposes

mixed signals

Frequency: 70 %

They were sending each other mixed signals, not realizing they were on cross purposes.

conflicting interests

Frequency: 60 %

Their conflicting interests led them to work on cross purposes.

opposing goals

Frequency: 50 %

Their opposing goals put them at cross purposes with each other.

contradictory intentions

Frequency: 45 %

Their contradictory intentions resulted in them being at cross purposes.

misaligned objectives

Frequency: 40 %

Their misaligned objectives caused them to work at cross purposes.

Idiomatic Expressions for cross purposes

• Phrase: talk at cross purposes
  Meaning: to misunderstand each other due to miscommunication or differing interpretations
  Usage: They were talking at cross purposes because they were using different definitions for the key terms.