for all intents and purposes
In every practical or functional sense; almost completely. The phrase is often misstated as "for all intensive purposes." The app is finished, for all intents and purposes. We just need to iron out a few issues before it's released. For all intents and purposes, he's the leader of the organization. He just doesn't have the title. I know the two countries have very distinct differences, but for all intents and purposes, America and Canada are nearly identical.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
for all intents and purposes
Cliché seeming as if; looking as if. Tom stood there, looking, for all intents and purposes, as if he could strangle Sally, but, being the gentleman that he is, he just glowered. Mary: Is the car washed now? John: For all intents and purposes, yes, but I didn't dry it yet.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
all intents and purposes, for (to)
In practical terms; virtually. Since intent and purpose mean the same thing, the term is a tautology. According to Eric Partridge, it has been a cliché since the mid-nineteenth century. It originated in English law in the 1500s, when it was even more long-windedly phrased, to all intents, constructions and purposes.
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer