to all intents and purposes

English

Alternative forms

• for all intents and purposes (mostly US)

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

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Prepositional phrase

to all intents and purposes

1. (idiomatic, British) For every functional purpose; in every practical sense; in every important respect; practically speaking.

   To all intents and purposes the case is closed.

   This treaty is to all intents and purposes no longer viable.

   • 2011 December 19, Kerry Brown, “Kim Jong-il obituary”, in The Guardian‎^[1]:

     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.

   • 2020 November 18, Gareth Dennis, “Can Cambridgeshire plan transform transportation?”, in Rail, page 64:

     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.

Synonyms

• effectively, essentially, in essence, in effect, practically, virtually

Translations

for every functional purpose

• Finnish: käytännössä (fi)
• Hebrew: לכל דבר ועניין
• Italian: a tutti gli effetti
• Swedish: praktiskt taget, i allt väsentligt, så gott som (sv)