intension.

The properties or meaning that determine what falls under a concept or term.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• intension of a concept
• intension and extension

On the page

The philosopher distinguished the term’s intension from the set of objects it denoted.

Changing the intension altered which cases fell within the category.

Usage notes

Primary category: academic / formal. Forms: Usually uncountable; singular intension and plural intensions for distinct conceptual contents. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: inference, qualification, analysis, methodology. Disciplines: academic writing, reasoning, research. Commonness: uncommon.