intention: Meaning and Definition of

in•ten•tion

Pronunciation: (in-ten'shun), [key]
— n.
  1. an act or instance of determining mentally upon some action or result.
  2. the end or object intended; purpose.
  3. a bungler with good 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.
    1. Also calledfirst intention, primary intention.reference by signs, concepts, etc., to concrete things, their properties, classes, or the relationships among them.
    2. Also calledsecond intention, secondary intention.reference to properties, classes, or the relationships among first intentions.
  5. a manner or process of healing, as in the healing of a lesion or fracture without granulationor the healing of a wound by granulation after suppuration
  6. meaning or significance: The intention of his words was clear.
  7. the person or thing meant to benefit from a prayer or religious offering.
  8. intentness.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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