English Reference
Adverb

intentionally

adv. manner
B2 Upper Intermediate US /ˌɪnˈtɛnʃənəɫi/ UK /ɪntˈɛnʃənəli/ in·ten·tion·al·ly

adv.on purpose. You use this when someone does something because they planned to do it, not by accident.

adv.done in a deliberate or purposeful manner. Often used to assign responsibility or agency to an action.


SIMPLE

He intentionally left his phone at home.

CONTEXTUAL

The lawyer argued that the defendant intentionally damaged the property to collect the insurance money.

COMPLEX

While some errors in the manuscript were accidental, the author intentionally omitted certain controversial details to avoid legal repercussions from the estate.

Usage

Typically placed before the main verb or at the end of the clause.

Pitfall
He did it intentionalHe did it intentionally

Learners often use the adjective form 'intentional' when an adverb is required to modify the verb.

For many young couples, especially those raising children, exercising together may require intentionally carving out time.

Phys.org· 11 Aug 2026

Google doesn’t want to give people an easy path to attack SynthID, so access is intentionally limited.

Ars Technica· 29 Jul 2026

Common in science writing


From intentional + -ly.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Level B2 · Upper Intermediate
Frequency Frequent
Updated