1
as in goals
something that one hopes or intends to accomplish
her intention is to climb the highest peak in each of the 50 states
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in senses
the idea that is conveyed or intended to be conveyed to the mind by language, symbol, or action
she was uncertain of the intention of his frantic gesturing
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of intentions
Such incongruence between actions and intentions can also bring about feelings of guilt.
—
Becca Stanek, TheWeek, 24 Apr. 2026
Closer to home, Jolly does not hide his intentions for Florida.
—Thomas C. Shank, The Orlando Sentinel, 24 Apr. 2026
Yet Tuesday’s announcement detailed how intentions have been altered once again.
—Jacob Tanswell, New York Times, 22 Apr. 2026
Even though Wednesday’s setting was a pre-draft press conference for the Dallas Cowboys, the biggest news to come out of the nearly hourlong session with reporters was the team announcing its 2026 intentions for wide receiver George Pickens.
—Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 22 Apr. 2026
Spring cleaning often starts with good intentions — donating unused items, rotating seasonal wardrobes, and reorganizing closets.
—Laura Vansickle, Charlotte Observer, 22 Apr. 2026
Beijing has said its intentions in East Asia and elsewhere are peaceful.
—CNN Money, 21 Apr. 2026
Speaking to the Associated Press a few months ago, Allen made his intentions about raising a family in Buffalo crystal clear.
—Ryan Brennan
april 21, Kansas City Star, 21 Apr. 2026
San Diego currently has a housing system whose affordability intentions don’t align with outcomes.
—Jacob Mitchell, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Apr. 2026
Becca Stanek, TheWeek, 24 Apr. 2026
Closer to home, Jolly does not hide his intentions for Florida.
—Thomas C. Shank, The Orlando Sentinel, 24 Apr. 2026
Yet Tuesday’s announcement detailed how intentions have been altered once again.
—Jacob Tanswell, New York Times, 22 Apr. 2026
Even though Wednesday’s setting was a pre-draft press conference for the Dallas Cowboys, the biggest news to come out of the nearly hourlong session with reporters was the team announcing its 2026 intentions for wide receiver George Pickens.
—Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 22 Apr. 2026
Spring cleaning often starts with good intentions — donating unused items, rotating seasonal wardrobes, and reorganizing closets.
—Laura Vansickle, Charlotte Observer, 22 Apr. 2026
Beijing has said its intentions in East Asia and elsewhere are peaceful.
—CNN Money, 21 Apr. 2026
Speaking to the Associated Press a few months ago, Allen made his intentions about raising a family in Buffalo crystal clear.
—Ryan Brennan
april 21, Kansas City Star, 21 Apr. 2026
San Diego currently has a housing system whose affordability intentions don’t align with outcomes.
—Jacob Mitchell, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for intentions
Noun
-
All of Tinley Park’s goals were scored by sophomores.—
Steve Millar,
Chicago Tribune,
22 Apr. 2026
-
As the Moon moves through Cancer, your focus shifts to friends, group dynamics, and shared goals.—
Tarot.com,
Hartford Courant,
21 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
But fights are just as integral to the Netflix show created by Lee Sung Jin, and the series’ sound team needed to do even more meticulous work building visceral senses of anger, stress, and dread that slowly swallow up the characters and steer them into making a compounding set of poor decisions.—
Sarah Shachat,
IndieWire,
24 Apr. 2026
-
And there’s nothing like the disorienting effect of standing in darkness in an unfamiliar place to quicken the senses and sharpen the ear.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
23 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Your itinerary, your accommodation and your plans are wrapped up in those booking details, and now someone else may have a copy.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
22 Apr. 2026
-
The Royals plan to build an entertainment district around the stadium to generate steady profits, though the depths of those plans are not yet clear.—
Kacen Bayless,
Kansas City Star,
22 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The contradiction in these meanings is an apt metaphor for Can’s visionary approach to her work and her singular voice among the generation of experimental Chinese writers who emerged in the 1980s.—
René Ostberg,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
23 Apr. 2026
-
Words and sounds, symbols and meanings, are the essence of her artistic practice.—
Chal Ravens,
Pitchfork,
17 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Princess Elizabeth and her family toured the Sandringham Park grounds, which were being used for agricultural purposes to contribute to the war efforts, in August 1943.—
Stephanie Sengwe,
PEOPLE,
21 Apr. 2026
-
But as soon as one flagellar motor reverses direction and starts rotating clockwise, the bundle falls apart; the reverse-twirling filament unravels the braid and puts the cell’s flagellar motors at cross-purposes, kicking the cell around.—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
20 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Steve Kerr’s contract is, for all intents and purposes, history.—
Dieter Kurtenbach,
Mercury News,
18 Apr. 2026
-
Chicago made one more move Saturday signaling its intents to win this season, trading away a 2028 first-round pick for Jacy Sheldon.—
Sabreena Merchant,
New York Times,
11 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The second is that Trump, as strategist-in-chief, keeps giving his negotiators objectives so implausible, confused or contradictory that even the wiliest diplomats in history — a Klemens von Metternich in the 19th century, say, or a Henry Kissinger in the 20th — would come up empty.—
Andreas Kluth,
Mercury News,
18 Apr. 2026
-
Under medium- and long-term objectives, the country intends to build its nuclear power industry by 2030, according to the State Council Information Office.—
Aman Tripathi,
Interesting Engineering,
17 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
After five months, DriveSavers recovered the contents of two of them, with artifacts of the damage still visible in certain images.—
Julian Lucas,
New Yorker,
20 Apr. 2026
-
Consuming the contents of jars could be life-threatening, HiPP said.—
Reuters,
NBC news,
19 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Intentions.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/intentions. Accessed 26 Apr. 2026.
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