Meaning & use
intension
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Meanings
noununcountablespecialist
In logic and philosophy, the set of qualities that make up what a term means, as opposed to the things it applies to.
Grammar: Usually uncountable and paired with extension: the intension of a term.
Patterns
- the intension of something
- intension and extension
The intension of the word triangle includes having three straight sides.
Philosophers distinguish the intension of a concept from its extension.
Two terms can differ in intension even if they pick out the same things.
noununcountablerareold-fashioned
In an older and rarer use, the degree of strength or tension of something.
Grammar: Rare today; intensity is used instead.
Patterns
- intension of something
The old text speaks of the intension of heat in the furnace.
Early scientists wrote about the intension and remission of a quality.
The intension of his gaze unsettled the audience.
Common combinations
- intension and extension
- The lecture contrasted the intension and extension of the word bachelor.
- intension of a concept
- The intension of a concept is fixed by its defining features.
- intension of a term
- The intension of a term is what a speaker must grasp to use it correctly.
- definition by intension
- A definition by intension lists the necessary properties.
Synonyms and how they differ
- connotation
- Connotation is the feeling or association a word carries, while intension is the strict set of defining properties.
- sense
- Sense is the closest term in some philosophy of language, but it is a broader everyday word than the logician's intension.
Opposites
Word family
- intensional adjective
- relating to intension rather than reference
- intensionality noun
- the property of depending on meaning, not just reference
- extension noun
- the set of things a term refers to
Commonly confused: intension or intention? intension or intensity?
intension vs intention
Intention is a plan or aim in your mind, while intension is a technical term about meaning.
intension vs intensity
Intensity means strength or force, which is unrelated to the logic term.
Practice
In logic, the set of things a word applies to is its extension; the set of defining properties is its ___.
Choose one answer.
Intension is the logic term for the defining properties. Intention is a common misspelling trap but means a purpose or aim.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “intension”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.