to all intents and purposes
3
5.0
- idiom
:
prácticamente
- These animals were, to all intents and purposes, living in a slum with not even the basic requirements being provided for.
- look, to all intents and purposes
It would, to all intents and purposes mean not leaving the EU at all.
- It would, to all intents and purposes mean not leaving the EU at all.
Examples
-
To all intents and purposes, in this context, it's a Get Out of Jail Free card.
Blog text (32) -
But, alas! they were dead, to all intents and purposes.
Academic text (1995) -
And most of them are to all intents and purposes the same.
-
My parents seemed suddenly distant figures, and I was, to all intents and purposes, by myself.
Academic text (1993) -
It would, to all intents and purposes mean not leaving the EU at all.
-
To all intents and purposes, you're invisible.
Fiction book (2001) -
To all intents and purposes, he'd gone into hibernation.
Fiction book (1999) -
To all intents and purposes, therefore, Mbari can be defined as an "extinct" tradition.
Academic text (2005) -
To all intents and purposes, then, the main protagonist's ambitions and desires seem to be amply fulfilled.
Academic text (1992) -
The project is, to all intents and purposes, complete and ready for launch.
Synonyms
172
3.8
It is true in reality even if not officially stated
8
3.5
In practice, it is true even if not officially so
5
3.8
In most real situations it is true even if not by the rules
Surface Forms
Morphology
to + all + intent + and + purpose
Although the words 'all', 'intent', and 'purpose' individually convey notions of aims or reasons, the conventionalized phrase 'to all intents and purposes' has undergone a pragmatic extension to mean 'in practice' or 'virtually', which is not strictly and directly derivable from the literal constituents. The expression is formulaic and somewhat formal, so a B1 learner who knows the component words might only partially infer its meaning and would likely need prior exposure to grasp the idiomatic pragmatic sense.
Etymology
To all intents and purposes may come from old law writing, where people listed words like intent and purpose to make sure nothing was left out; they used both words to cover every reason or meaning. So today it means 'in every practical sense' or 'virtually'.