intended
Americanadjective
noun
Other Word Forms
- intendedly adverb
- intendedness noun
- quasi-intended adjective
- unintended adjective
- unintendedly adverb
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.
"Most people understand and follow simple cinema etiquette... so everyone can enjoy the film as intended."
From BBC • Apr. 24, 2026
Another letter was also submitted, however, and it wasn’t intended to assist Sanberg.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 23, 2026
The doctrine “is relevant to attempts by taxpayers to mechanically utilize the provisions of the Tax Code to obtain a benefit not intended by Congress,” wrote Judge Michael Murphy.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 22, 2026
"It is not a project intended to import waste from overseas," he said.
From Barron's • Apr. 22, 2026
No disrespect to Shakespeare, Tolstoy, or Moby-Dick is intended by this, for every poet knows it already.
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
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.
