Meaning & use
good intention
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Meaning
nouncountable
a wish or plan to do something helpful or kind
Grammar: Countable; often used in the plural: good intentions. Can be followed by 'of doing' or 'to do'.
Patterns
- good intention of doing something
- have good intentions
- with good intentions
She had good intentions when she offered to help, but she made things worse.
His good intentions were obvious, even if the result was a mess.
They started the project with good intentions but ran out of money.
Word forms
| plural | good intentions |
|---|
Common combinations
- have good intentions
- I know you have good intentions, but please listen first.
- with good intentions
- He acted with good intentions, though it did not help.
- the best of intentions
- Even with the best of intentions, mistakes happen.
- good intentions are not enough
- In this job, good intentions are not enough; you need skills.
Synonyms and how they differ
- goodwill
- More general and often used in business or diplomacy; it means a friendly feeling, not a specific plan.
- good faith
- A legal or formal term meaning honesty and sincerity, not just a kind wish.
Opposites
Word family
- intend verb
- To have something in mind as a plan or purpose.
- intention noun
- A plan or aim; 'good intention' is a specific type of intention.
- intentional adjective
- Done on purpose, not by accident.
Commonly confused: good intention or intension?
good intention vs intension
A rare technical term in logic; not the same as 'intention'. Learners sometimes misspell 'intention' as 'intension'.
Practice
He had good ______, but his plan failed.
Choose one answer.
We need a noun after 'good'. 'Intentions' is the plural noun. 'Intentional' is an adjective, 'intends' is a verb, and 'intently' is an adverb.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “good intention”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.