intend
Americanverb (used with object)
-
intends,
present (3rd person singular)
-
intended,
past participle, past
-
intending
present participle
-
to have in mind as something to be done or brought about; plan.
We intend to leave in a month.
- Synonyms:
- purpose, aim, expect, contemplate
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to design or mean for a particular purpose, use, recipient, etc..
a fund intended for emergency use only.
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to design to express or indicate, as by one's words; refer to.
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(of words, terms, statements, etc.) to mean or signify.
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Archaic. to direct (the eyes, mind, etc.).
verb (used without object)
-
intends,
present (3rd person singular)
-
intended,
past participle, past
-
intending
present participle
-
to have a purpose or design.
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Obsolete. to set out on one's course.
verb
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(may take a clause as object) to propose or plan (something or to do something); have in mind; mean
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to design or destine (for a certain purpose, person, etc)
that shot was intended for the President
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(tr) to mean to express or indicate
what do his words intend?
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(intr) to have a purpose as specified; mean
he intends well
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archaic (tr) to direct or turn (the attention, eyes, etc)
Synonym Usage
Intend, mean, design, propose imply knowing what one wishes to do and setting this as a goal. To intend is to have in mind something to be done or brought about: No offense was intended. Mean is a less formal word than intend but otherwise a close synonym: He means to go away. Design implies planning to effect a particular result: to design a plan for Christmas decorations. Propose suggests setting up a program for oneself or offering it to others for consideration: We propose to beautify our city.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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intendsimple
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intendssimple
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have intendedperfect
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has intendedperfect
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am intendingprogressive
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are intendingprogressive
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is intendingprogressive
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have been intendingperfect progressive
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has been intendingperfect progressive
Past
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intendedsimple
-
had intendedperfect
-
was intendingprogressive
-
were intendingprogressive
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had been intendingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of intend
First recorded in 1250–1300; from Latin intendere “to aim, assert, stretch out”; equivalent to in- 2 + tend 1; replacing Middle English entenden, from Old French entendre, from Latin, as above
Explanation
If you intend to do something, you mean to do it or have it in mind as a goal. Do you plan on getting your holiday cards in the mail before February this year? Then you intend on getting them out early. The world is full of good intentions, meaning there are lots of people who intend to be nice, eat better, floss more, or pick up their dirty socks. But things don't always go as planned. Your actions could produce results that you didn't expect, specify, or ever intend — that might explain the well-known proverb, "The road to Hell is paved with good intentions."
Vocabulary lists containing intend
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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:
With questions swirling around whether the stay is permanent, reports have noted the couple intend to keep their existing homes in California and Portugal.
From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026
The researchers also intend to investigate other metabolites that may contribute to the effect.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 21, 2026
“We intend to go to trial and push this case to the end. We want to block this merger,” Bonta said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
Baruah says she does not intend to leave Charing.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
‘These here—what you intend to do with them?’
From "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers
According to Bloomberg, Anthropic intends to surpass the record $86.2 billion that Elon Musk's SpaceX raised in its June IPO.
From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026
The same notice periods can also apply if a landlord intends to raise the rent by 5% or more.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 24, 2026
Tice will set out how the Reform intends to pay for the 50,000 affordable homes during Monday's news conference, the party added.
From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026
The company also said it intends to close its European fiber cement business, subject to legal, regulatory and employee consultation requirements.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
“They think he intends to use Dust in some way in order to make a bridge between this world and the world beyond the Aurora.”
From "The Golden Compass" by Philip Pullman
“Legend” wasn’t intended as a vehicle for any actor.
From Salon ● Aug. 26, 2026
Banks have argued that yield could trigger deposit flight from banks and fought against it in the Clarity Act, a landmark measure intended to establish the first comprehensive regulatory framework for all digital assets.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026
Those observations are intended to help researchers evaluate the deflection of asteroids as a potential method to defend Earth against asteroid impacts.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 26, 2026
Rockstar acknowledged players had been waiting for it to address the leaked footage, and said it was "unfortunate the intended game experience may now be impacted by some spoilers".
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
Hans and Sophie realized that the court intended to make an example out of them and that they could expect the death sentence.
From "Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
Recently, I went to the grocery store intending, more or less, to buy ingredients for spaghetti with a weeknight Bolognese.
From Salon ● Aug. 20, 2026
The Wiener campaign described it as “the world’s first AI trained to say no to anything you ask,” intending to highlight her record on housing, transit, and other issues.
From Slate ● Aug. 15, 2026
He started Arcee in 2023 with Jacob Solawetz and Brian Benedict, not intending to build a foundation model.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026
But he, Albert Bowers and Jessie Cole, both 17 at the time, were all convicted of manslaughter - which means causing an unlawful death, without necessarily intending to do so.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
She had moved forward in that moment, intending to rush to him, to greet and embrace him.
From "Son" by Lois Lowry
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.
