play person studying illustration

'All Intensive Purposes' or 'All Intents and Purposes'?

We're intent on clearing it up


Is the phrase 'for all intensive purposes' or 'for all intents and purposes'? Senior Editor Emily Brewster explains.

Transcript

Sometimes a word that sounds like the right word, and feels like the right word, isn't actually the right word. It's an eggcorn.

If something has the same effect or result as another thing, it's not "for all intensive purposes" the same as that other thing, it's for all intents and purposes the same. It shares the same aim as the other thing, so it has the same effect or result.

Up next

play peter-sokolowski-indict-graphic
Video: Why is there a 'c' in 'indict'?

 

And who put it there, anyway?

play video title attorney generals
Is It 'Attorney Generals' Or 'Attorneys General'?

 

'Poets laureate'? 'Court-martials'? The curious history of postpositive adjectives in English.

play sneaked vs snuck video
Sneaked vs. Snuck

 

How the irregular 'snuck' sneaked into the dictionary

play video mischievous nulcear library mispronunciations
'Mispronunciations' That May Be Fine

 

'Mischievous,' 'nuclear,' and other words to pronounce with caution.

play video old school grammar humorsome
Old-School Grammar

 

Many of today's grammar rules can be traced to the opinions of one 18th century writer.

play there theyre their video
There, They're, Their

 

There, there. We'll sort it out.