intend
verbcommon in dialogue
- //ɪnˈtɛnd//
To fix the mind upon (something, or something to be accomplished); be intent upon
verb
- 1
To fix the mind upon (something, or something to be accomplished); be intent upon
He intends to go to university.
They evidently intended some mischief.
After I've finished my contract I never intend to teach teenagers again.
The stories did not seem to me to touch life. They were plainly intended to have a bracing moral effect, and perhaps had this result for the people at whom they were aimed. They left me with the impression of a well-delivered stereopticon lecture, with characters about as life-like as the shadows on the screen, and whisking on and off, at the mercy of the operator.
- 2
To fix the mind on; attend to; take care of; superintend; regard.
- 3
obsoleteTo stretch to extend; distend.
- 4
To strain; make tense.
- 5
obsoleteTo intensify; strengthen.
Dotage, fatuity, or folly […] is for the most part intended or remitted in particular men, and thereupon some are wiser than others […].
- 6
To apply with energy.
- 7
To bend or turn; direct, as one’s course or journey.
- 8
To design mechanically or artistically; fashion; mold.
- 9
To pretend; counterfeit; simulate.
Etymology
From Middle English intenden, entenden (“direct (one’s) attention towards”), borrowed from Old French entendre, from Latin intendō, intendere. See also intensive. Doublet of entendre. Largely displaced native Old English myntan (“to mean, intend; to think, suppose”), whence dialectal mint.
Forms
- past tense
- intended
- past participle
- intended
- present participle
- intending
- third person singular
- intends
intend · To fix the mind upon (something, or something to be accomplished); be intent upon
intended · Planned.intending · The process by which one intends something; intention.intense · Of a characteristic: extreme or very high or strong in…