| (in literary criticism) an assertion that the intended meaning of the author is not the only or most important meaning; a fallacy involving an assessment of a literary work based on the author's intended meaning rather than on actual response to the work. |
in·ten·tion·al·ism  (ĭn-těn'shə-nə-lĭz'əm)  n. The belief or assumption that the meanings of a text are determined mainly by the stated or implied intentions of the author. in·ten'tion·al·ist adj. & n. |
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