# intent

Pronunciation: say "in-TENT" /ɪnˈtɛnt/

## Noun

1. An aim or purpose that someone has in mind.
   - Simple: What a person plans or means to do.
   - _The contract makes both parties' intent clear from the start._
   - _He acted with the intent of resolving the dispute peacefully._
2. A person's state of mind at the time of committing an offense.
   - Simple: What a person was thinking or meaning to do when they broke the law.
   - _Prosecutors must establish criminal intent beyond a reasonable doubt._
   - _The jury weighed whether intent existed at the moment the act occurred._

## Adjective

3. Firmly fixed or concentrated on a particular thing.
   - Simple: Strongly focused on one thing and paying very close attention to it.
   - _She remained intent on the chessboard, ignoring everything around her._
   - _The young scientist was intent on the experiment for hours._
4. Determined and unwavering in following a chosen course of action.
   - Simple: Determined to keep doing something and not stop.
   - _The committee was intent on passing the reform despite fierce opposition._
   - _She stayed intent on her goal even when everyone else gave up._
5. Completely absorbed or engrossed in something.
   - Simple: Deeply absorbed in what you are doing or watching.
   - _His intent gaze never left the screen during the entire film._
   - _They listened with intent attention as the story unfolded._

## Origin

First appearing in Middle English as "entente," the word came from Old French "entent" or "entente," and ultimately from Latin "intentus." Its spelling was later modified to align more closely with the Latin form.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/intent (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).