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to all intents and purposes. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
to all intents and purposes, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
to all intents and purposes in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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to all intents and purposes, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Alternative forms
Etymology
1500s, English law, originally “to all intents, constructions, and purposes” (found in an act adopted under Henry VIII in 1547).
Pronunciation
Prepositional phrase
to all intents and purposes
- (idiomatic, British) For every functional purpose; in every practical sense; in every important respect; practically speaking.
- To all intents and purposes the case is closed.
- This treaty is to all intents and purposes no longer viable.
2011 December 19, Kerry Brown, “Kim Jong-il obituary”, in The Guardian:With the arrival of the cold war, relations between the two countries (for this is, to all intents and purposes, what they became after the end of the war) were almost completely broken off, with whole families split for the ensuing decades, some for ever.
2020 November 18, Gareth Dennis, “Can Cambridgeshire plan transform transportation?”, in Rail, page 64:Have you heard the word "gadgetbahn"? It's a portmanteau coined to describe transport proposals that, to all intents and purposes, ought to be delivered using proven railway technology... and yet go out of their way to be anything but a railway.
Synonyms
Translations
for every functional purpose