intention

[in-ten-shuhn]

noun

1. an act or instance of determining mentally upon some action or result.

2. the end or object intended; purpose.

   Synonyms: goal

3. intentions,

   1. purpose or attitude toward the effect of one's actions or conduct.

      a bungler with good intentions.

   2. purpose or attitude with respect to marriage.

      Our friends are beginning to ask what our intentions are.

4. the act or fact of intending.

5. Logic.

   1. Also called first intention,. Also called primary intention. reference by signs, concepts, etc., to concrete things, their properties, classes, or the relationships among them.

   2. Also called second intention,. Also called secondary intention. reference to properties, classes, or the relationships among first intentions.

6. Surgery, Medicine/Medical.,  a manner or process of healing, as in the healing of a lesion or fracture without granulation healing by first intention or the healing of a wound by granulation after suppuration healing by second intention.

7. meaning or significance.

   The intention of his words was clear.

8. the person or thing meant to benefit from a prayer or religious offering.

9. Archaic.,  intentness.

intention

/ ɪnˈtɛnʃən /

noun

1. a purpose or goal; aim

   it is his intention to reform

2. law the resolve or design with which a person does or refrains from doing an act, a necessary ingredient of certain offences

3. med a natural healing process, as by first intention , in which the edges of a wound cling together with no tissue between, or by second intention , in which the wound edges adhere with granulation tissue

4. (usually plural) design or purpose with respect to a proposal of marriage (esp in the phrase honourable intentions )

5. an archaic word for meaning intentness

Other Word Forms

• intentionless adjective
• misintention noun
• preintention noun
• subintention noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of intention¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English intencio(u)n, from Latin intentiōn- (stem of intentiō ). See intent ², -ion

Synonym Study

Intention, intent, purpose all refer to a wish that one means to carry out. Intention is the general word: His intention is good. Intent is chiefly legal or literary: attack with intent to kill. Purpose implies having a goal or determination to achieve something: Her strong sense of purpose is reflected in her studies.

Example Sentences

Addressing "important" topics in comedy can be cathartic but requires a constructive and kind approach, Coogan stresses, noting the intention from him and his co-writers was to "laugh around mental health, not at it."

From BBC

No matter what happens, the fact that James didn’t reveal his intentions in his first public appearance since last spring means that this Laker season has the chance to be a murky maybe mess.

From Los Angeles Times

Will Wright, Interpath's UK chief executive and joint administrator, added: "Our intention is to continue to trade the remaining portfolio of stores for as long as we can, while we explore the options available."

From BBC

"Do what I did, go and find a television camera, stand in front of it and say: 'I have no intention of standing against the elected leader of our country'," he said.

From BBC

It was probably true that Hitler held the fate of German firms like Krupp, IG Farben and Siemens in his hands, but that did not make them any less enthusiastic in carrying out his intentions.

From Salon

Related Words

• aim 
• hope 
• motive 
• objective 
• plan 
• purpose