intended
Americanadjective
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purposed; designed; intentional.
an intended snub.
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prospective.
one's intended wife.
noun
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intendeds
plural
adjective
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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intendednessnoun
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quasi-intendedadjective
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unintendedadjective
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intendedlyadverb
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unintendedlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of intended
Explanation
Something intended is done on purpose. The intended outcome of a meeting is the result that everyone is planning and hoping for. A robber's intended victim is the person whose purse he means to snatch, and the intended destination of a hot air balloon is the spot where its pilot expects to land. An old-fashioned way to use this word is as a noun, meaning "fiancee" or "person I plan to marry." Intended comes from the verb intend, or "plan," from the Latin intendere, "turn one's attention" or "have as a plan."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
He is still building back his strength, no pun intended.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026
That’s no longer true: A limited number of companies now drive most of its returns as they fuel the buildout of artificial intelligence, and an even smaller handful “chip” in the rest — pun intended.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 15, 2026
And yet the plan is not working — at least not in the way its architects intended.
From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026
The new facilities replaced older toilets and were intended to provide free, accessible toilets for everyone, regardless of gender.
From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026
Sancho replied that he was not going to fight—he had been a peaceful man all his life and intended to remain one.
From "Adventures of Don Quixote" by Argentina Palacios
Spurred on by Berowne, “a man replete with mocks,” they double down on whimsy, dressing up for some reason as Russians to bamboozle their intendeds.
From New York Times ● Jul. 27, 2023
The online star, who has more than 20m YouTube subscribers, intendeds to sue Paradise for defamation for the "irreparable damages" to his reputation.
From BBC ● Apr. 14, 2021
The setting is Naples, and old philosopher Don Alfonso bets the boys that their intendeds are fallible.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 26, 2014
What is the reason that men fall in love with me, whether I like it or not, and desert their chosen intendeds for my sake?'
From Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens
Her sketch of a sojourn upon the Lioness Range is not tempting: young gentlemen who intend leading brides to the deadly peninsula should hide the book from their fair intendeds.
From To the Gold Coast for Gold A Personal Narrative in Two Volumes.—Volume I by Sir Richard Francis Burton
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
