Dictionary

to all intents and purposes en · ADP

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio

Etymology

1500s, English law, originally “to all intents, constructions, and purposes” (found in an act adopted under Henry VIII in 1547).

Meanings

1. (UK, idiomatic) For every functional purpose; in every practical sense; in every important respect; practically speaking.
   • With the arrival of the cold war, relations between the two countries (for this is, to all intents and purposes, what they became after the end of the war) were almost completely broken off, with whole families split for the ensuing decades, some for ever. 2011 December 19, Kerry Brown, “Kim Jong-il obituary”, in The Guardian:
   • Have you heard the word "gadgetbahn"? It's a portmanteau coined to describe transport proposals that, to all intents and purposes, ought to be delivered using proven railway technology... and yet go out of their way to be anything but a railway. 2020 November 18, Gareth Dennis, “Can Cambridgeshire plan transform transportation?”, in Rail, page 64:
   • This treaty is to all intents and purposes no longer viable.
   • To all intents and purposes the case is closed.

Forms

Synonyms

in effect · essentially · in essence · effectively · TAIAP · virtually · practically

Translations (7)

sv praktiskt taget (for every functional purpose) · sv i allt väsentligt (for every functional purpose) · sv så gott som (for every functional purpose) · he לכל דבר ועניין (for every functional purpose) · cmn 實際上 /实际上 (for every functional purpose) · fi käytännössä (for every functional purpose) · it a tutti gli effetti (for every functional purpose)