Meaning of to all intents and purposes | Babel Free

Definitions

For every functional purpose; in every practical sense; in every important respect; practically speaking.

British, idiomatic

Equivalents

Examples

“To all intents and purposes the case is closed.”

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

“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.”

“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.”

CEFR level