intending

[in-ten-ding]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR intending ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

designing or aiming to be; prospective or aspiring: intending surgeons.

Origin of intending

First recorded in 1650–60; intend + -ing²

intend

[in-tend]

verb (used with object)

to have in mind as something to be done or brought about; plan: We intend to leave in a month.

to design or mean for a particular purpose, use, recipient, etc.: a fund intended for emergency use only.

to design to express or indicate, as by one's words; refer to.

(of words, terms, statements, etc.) to mean or signify.

Archaic. to direct (the eyes, mind, etc.).

verb (used without object)

to have a purpose or design.

Obsolete. to set out on one's course.

Origin of intend

1250–1300; < Latin intendere to stretch towards, aim at (see in-², tend¹); replacing Middle English entenden < Old French entendre < Latin, as above

Related formsin·tend·er, nounmis·in·tend, verbpre·in·tend, verb (used with object)

Synonyms for intend

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR intend ON THESAURUS.COM

1. contemplate, expect, aim, purpose.

Synonym study

1. 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.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for intending

try, resolve, propose, aim, contemplate, design, plan, destine, designate, mean, think, expect, essay, plot, decree, spell, signify, appoint, reserve, connote

Examples from the Web for intending

Contemporary Examples of intending

The night before he bought a lot of crack-cocaine on credit with no way to pay, intending to kill himself after smoking.
A Million Ways to Die in Prison
Daniel Genis
December 8, 2014
He also suggested on Twitter that he was intending to continue to work closely with the organization.
Amnesty International U.K. Board Chairman Resigns Over Crude Jokes
Nico Hines
August 14, 2013
She clambered naked out a third-floor window and hung by her fingertips, intending to let herself drop into the bushes below.
Cleveland Kidnapping, Anthony Sowell Case Linked by Indifferent Police
Michael Daly
May 8, 2013
Ten years ago he broke into a house owned by a woman named Lola Nixon, intending to commit burglary.
Death Penalty Survives In California, But Three-Strikes Law Cut Back
David R. Dow
November 9, 2012
To avoid blame, Cantor claimed that the Democrats were intending to do the same and he just wanted to preempt them.
9 Revelations From Robert Draper’s ‘Do Not Ask What Good We Do’
Ben Jacobs
April 25, 2012

Historical Examples of intending

So saying, he thrust his boot into the snow, intending to kick it over the girl.
Rico and Wiseli
Johanna Spyri
We went on, however, intending to go into one of the Cape de Verdes.
Ned Myers
James Fenimore Cooper
I got out with Villaret, intending at any rate to stretch my limbs.
My Double Life
Sarah Bernhardt
Young We followed the plow-boy, intending to greet his brother-in-law.
The Chinese Fairy Book
Various
We may be sure he told her all about himself and what he had done and was intending to do.
Samuel Butler: A Sketch
Henry Festing Jones

British Dictionary definitions for intending

intend

verb

(may take a clause as object) to propose or plan (something or to do something); have in mind; mean

(tr often foll by for) to design or destine (for a certain purpose, person, etc)that shot was intended for the President

(tr) to mean to express or indicatewhat do his words intend?

(intr) to have a purpose as specified; meanhe intends well

(tr) archaic to direct or turn (the attention, eyes, etc)

Derived Formsintender, noun

Word Origin for intend

C14: from Latin intendere to stretch forth, give one's attention to, from tendere to stretch

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for intending

intend

c.1300, "direct one's attention to," from Old French entendre, intendre "to direct one's attention" (in Modern French principally "to hear"), from Latin intendere "turn one's attention, strain," literally "stretch out, extend," from in- "toward" (see in- (2)) + tendere "to stretch" (see tenet). Sense of "have as a plan" (late 14c.) was present in Latin. A Germanic word for this was ettle, from Old Norse ætla "to think, conjecture, propose," from Proto-Germanic *ahta "consideration, attention" (cf. Old English eaht, German acht). Intended (n.) "one's intended husband or wife" is from 1767.