intention definition | Dictionary.com

in⋅ten⋅tion

[in-ten-shuh

–noun

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

2.	the end or object intended; purpose.

intentions,

a.	purpose or attitude toward the effect of one's actions or conduct: a bungler with good intentions.

b.	purpose or attitude with respect to marriage: Our friends are beginning to ask what our intentions are.

4.	the act or fact of intending.

Logic.

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

b.	Also called second intention, 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.

Origin:
1300–50; ME intencio(u)n < L intentiōn- (s. of intentiō). See intent ² , -ion

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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Language Translation for : intention

Spanish:

intención,

German:

die Absicht,

Japanese:

意図

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in·ten·tion (ĭn-těn'shən) Pronunciation Key
n.

A course of action that one intends to follow.
1. An aim that guides action; an objective.
2. intentions Purpose with respect to marriage: honorable intentions.
Medicine The process by which or the manner in which a wound heals.
Archaic Import; meaning.

[Middle English entencioun, from Old French intention, from Latin intentiō, intentiōn-, from intentus, intent, from past participle of intendere, to direct attention; see intend.]

Synonyms: These nouns refer to what one plans to do or achieve. Intention simply signifies a course of action that one proposes to follow: It is my intention to take a vacation next month.
Intent more strongly implies deliberateness: The executor complied with the testator's intent.
Purpose strengthens the idea of resolution or determination: "His purpose was to discover how long these guests intended to stay" (Joseph Conrad).
Goal may suggest an idealistic or long-term purpose: The college's goal was to raise ten million dollars for a new library.
End suggests a long-range goal: The candidate wanted to win and pursued every means to achieve that end.
Aim stresses the direction one's efforts take in pursuit of an end: The aim of most students is to graduate.
An object is an end that one tries to carry out: The object of chess is to capture your opponent's king.
Objective often implies that the end or goal can be reached: The report outlines the committee's objectives.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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intention
noun
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]
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"

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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Intention

De*sign"\, n. [Cf. dessein, dessin.]

1. A preliminary sketch; an outline or pattern of the main features of something to be executed, as of a picture, a building, or a decoration; a delineation; a plan.

2. A plan or scheme formed in the mind of something to be done; preliminary conception; idea intended to be expressed in a visible form or carried into action; intention; purpose; -- often used in a bad sense for evil intention or purpose; scheme; plot.

The vast design and purpos? of the King. --Tennyson.

The leaders of that assembly who withstood the designs of a besotted woman. --Hallam.

A . . . settled design upon another man's life. --Locke.

How little he could guess the secret designs of the court! --Macaulay.

3. Specifically, intention or purpose as revealed or inferred from the adaptation of means to an end; as, the argument from design.

4. The realization of an inventive or decorative plan; esp., a work of decorative art considered as a new creation; conception or plan shown in completed work; as, this carved panel is a fine design, or of a fine design.

5. (Mus.) The invention and conduct of the subject; the disposition of every part, and the general order of the whole.

Arts of design, those into which the designing of artistic forms and figures enters as a principal part, as architecture, painting, engraving, sculpture.

School of design, one in which are taught the invention and delineation of artistic or decorative figures, patterns, and the like.

Syn: Intention; purpose; scheme; project; plan; idea.

Usage: Design, Intention, Purpose. Design has reference to something definitely aimed at. Intention points to the feelings or desires with which a thing is sought. Purpose has reference to a settled choice or determination for its attainment. "I had no design to injure you," means it was no part of my aim or object. "I had no intention to injure you," means, I had no wish or desire of that kind. "My purpose was directly the reverse," makes the case still stronger.

Is he a prudent man . . . that lays designs only for a day, without any prospect to the remaining part of his life? --Tillotson.

I wish others the same intention, and greater successes. --Sir W. Temple.

It is the purpose that makes strong the vow. --Shak.

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