1.
[syn: purpose, intent, intention, aim, design]
2. (usually plural) the goal with respect to a marriage proposal;
- Example: "his intentions are entirely honorable"
3. an act of intending; a volition that you intend to carry out;
- Example: "my intention changed once I saw her"
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Intention \In*ten"tion\, n. [F. intention, L. intentio. See
Intend, and cf. Intension.]
[1913 Webster]
1. A stretching or bending of the mind toward an object;
closeness of application; fixedness of attention;
earnestness.
[1913 Webster]
Intention is when the mind, with great earnestness,
and of choice, fixes its view on any idea. --Locke.
[1913 Webster]
2. A determination to act in a certain way or to do a certain
thing; purpose; design; as, an intention to go to New
York.
[1913 Webster]
Hell is paved with good intentions. --Johnson.
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3. The object toward which the thoughts are directed; end;
aim.
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In [chronical distempers], the principal intention
is to restore the tone of the solid parts.
--Arbuthnot.
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4. The state of being strained. See Intension. [Obs.]
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5. (Logic) Any mental apprehension of an object.
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First intention (Logic), a conception of a thing formed by
the first or direct application of the mind to the
individual object; an idea or image; as, man, stone.
Second intention (Logic), a conception generalized from
first intuition or apprehension already formed by the
mind; an abstract notion; especially, a classified notion,
as species, genus, whiteness.
To heal by the first intention (Surg.), to cicatrize, as a
wound, without suppuration.
To heal by the second intention (Surg.), to unite after
suppuration.
Syn: Design; purpose; object; aim; intent; drift; purport;
meaning. See Design.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
intention
n 1: an anticipated outcome that is intended or that guides your
planned actions; "his intent was to provide a new
translation"; "good intentions are not enough"; "it was
created with the conscious aim of answering immediate
needs"; "he made no secret of his designs" [syn: purpose,
intent, intention, aim, design]
2: (usually plural) the goal with respect to a marriage
proposal; "his intentions are entirely honorable"
3: an act of intending; a volition that you intend to carry out;
"my intention changed once I saw her"
The Devil's Dictionary (1881-1906):
INTENTION, n. The mind's sense of the prevalence of one set of
influences over another set; an effect whose cause is the imminence,
immediate or remote, of the performance of an involuntary act.