Intent Means the Mind Stretched Towards Something
Intent is purpose. In criminal law it is one of the hardest things to prove, and it changes what an act amounts to.
Intent is a purpose or aim. Criminal law turns on it: the same physical act can be murder or manslaughter depending entirely on what was in the defendant's mind. Lawyers call the required mental element *mens rea*, a guilty mind. The Latin *intendere* means to stretch towards, and *attention* comes from the same stretching.
- Purpose. *Criminal intent.*
- Attentive. *An intent expression.*
- Determined. *Intent on winning.*
- To all intents and purposes — in practice. *To all intents and purposes, finished.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | intent | Clear intent. |
| Adjective | intent | Intent on leaving. |
| Noun | intention | Good intentions. |
| Adjective | intentional | Intentional damage. |
| Related | intense | Intense heat. |
How it is used in a sentence
- With intent to defraud.Legal formula.
- To all intents and purposes.Not *intensive* purposes.
- Mens rea means a guilty mind.The mental element of a crime.
Mental states in criminal law
- Intention — aiming at the result
- Recklessness — foreseeing a risk and taking it anyway
- Negligence — failing to meet a reasonable standard of care
- Strict liability — offences requiring no mental element
- Mens rea — the general term for the required state of mind
From Latin *intentus*, stretched or attentive, from *intendere*, to stretch towards, from *in* and *tendere*, to stretch.
Is it *intents and purposes* or *intensive purposes*?
Intents and purposes. The other version is a mishearing, though a common one.
Why does intent matter in law?
Because the same act can be a different offence depending on the defendant's state of mind, which is why prosecutions turn on proving it.