by design
26
4.0
- idiom
:
intencionalmente
- The park was laid out by design, with paths leading to all the best views.
- by design or accident
- by design or default
- understanding by design
Her waist is marked always either by design or by a belt.
- Her waist is marked always either by design or by a belt.
- All of this is by design and on purpose.
- It's life lived by design, not lived by default.
- Let's you and me let's do it by design, not by default.
- Zucker tried to make CNN into MSNBC by design.
- Like that's the thing you optimize for, which is have inherent contradictions by design, have flaws by design.
- So in essence, you have this minority rule by design.
Examples
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But then, just as his grip on our attention was waning, as if by design, the winds shifted.
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And so this is the lifestyle by design that I want to live.
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All of this is by design and on purpose.
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It's life lived by design, not lived by default.
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The Supreme Court is, by design, independent of the political branches of government.
Academic text (2006) -
Finally, by design, the majority of our participants were African American and came from low-income homes.
Academic text (2013) -
Our coven doesn't receive many guests, by design.
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Everything is by design
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It's all by design
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Today, opportunities for the global redistribution of species, by design or default, are expanding rapidly.
Academic text (1996)
Synonyms
320
3.7
To do something on purpose and with care
254
1.6
By choice, not by accident
155
3.1
In a way that someone does something on purpose, not by accident
72
3.5
To do something on purpose
37
3.1
Someone does this because they decide to, not because they must
31
3.9
To act in a determined way to reach a clear goal
3
7.4
In a careful way after thinking about what might happen
1
6.8
In a planned, careful way to get a particular result
1
7.7
On purpose to say or do something
1
8.2
In a way that is not by chance but because something caused it
In a way you choose after thinking about it
In a planned way rather than by chance
Antonyms
How Intentional
Surface Forms
Morphology
by + design
The meaning 'intentionally' is directly derivable from combining 'by' (marking cause/agency) with 'design' (a plan or deliberate scheme), so a learner who knows both words can infer 'caused/planned on purpose'. The 'by + noun' causal/agentive pattern is common cross-linguistically and contrasts transparently with phrases like 'by accident', supporting immediate comprehension.
Etymology
By design comes from builders and makers who worked from a drawn plan called a design. If something was done according to that plan, it was done 'on purpose', so by design now means 'intentionally'.