harmful intentions

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "harmful intentions" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used when discussing motives or purposes that are meant to cause harm or negative consequences to others. Example: "The investigation revealed that the suspect had harmful intentions towards the victim, which led to the charges being filed."

✓ Grammatically correct

Wiki

News & Media

Science

Formal & Business

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

7 human-written examples

You can know how to perfectly execute a ritual, but if you have malicious or harmful intentions, there is a chance of this malevolent intent backfiring at your expense.

WikiHow

JERUSALEM — What has caused more calamities throughout history: the harmful intentions of evil people or the misguided mistakes of well-intentioned people?

The New York Times

For conspiracy, the standard justification is the "group-danger" rationale, which states that since the objective of the criminal law is to protect harm to the community, and the community is at more risk from a group of people with harmful intentions than an individual with those same intentions, conspiracies themselves must be made a crime.

Wikipedia

Residential care centres that accept volunteers quickly become the target for those with harmful intentions towards children.

Unicef

Keeping the head covered in the first week of life was also reported as protecting the baby from harmful intentions : 'the baby's head was covered with a hat and he was clothed to protect his first hair from being seen by bad people so when the cord fell, they shaved his hair' [Narrative mother 21 year, 1 child, educated to standard 7].

BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth

Virtue is the starting block as letting go of harmful intentions is itself virtue, mental skills and wisdom.

WikiHow

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

53 human-written examples

Before a moral judgment can be made, the inappropriate and harmful intention of an actor has to be detected and linked to empathetic engagement with the deceived person.

Plosone

By observing the process, it's not long before you can be adequately disenchanted with a harmful intention, thought or feeling in order to outweigh it, and eventually this will become your new "habitual" approach to the negative thought or feeling.

WikiHow

To assume that bad intentions are required to make serious harms fundamentally unethical also ignores "errors of omission" and focuses merely on commission having harmful intent.

Environmental Health Perspectives

With mindfulness you can also recognise and learn to distinguish stress (which is developing insight) as well as potentially harmful thoughts and intentions.

WikiHow

How would we regulate entertainment found to be harmful without turning good intentions into a witch-hunt, without pulling art from museum walls and literature from library shelves?

Huffington Post

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

When discussing abstract concepts, use "harmful intentions" to clearly indicate a deliberate aim to cause damage or suffering. It helps to distinguish situations where harm is intended versus accidental or unintentional.

Common error

Avoid assuming that negative outcomes automatically imply "harmful intentions". Focus on demonstrating the deliberate intent to cause harm, rather than solely relying on the resulting damage.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "harmful intentions" functions as a noun phrase modified by an adjective. The adjective "harmful" specifies the type of intentions being discussed. According to Ludwig, the phrase is grammatically correct and usable in written English.

Expression frequency: Uncommon

Frequent in

News & Media

25%

Wiki

25%

Science

25%

Less common in

Formal & Business

17%

Encyclopedias

0%

Social Media

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, "harmful intentions" is a grammatically sound phrase used to describe motives or objectives designed to cause harm. As confirmed by Ludwig, it is deemed correct and usable in written English. While not exceptionally common, the phrase appears across various contexts, including news, wiki articles, and scientific literature. When using this phrase, ensure you are accurately portraying a deliberate intent to cause harm, rather than merely describing negative outcomes. Alternatives such as "malicious motives" or "destructive purposes" can provide nuanced variations in meaning.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

malicious motives

Emphasizes the evil or wicked nature of the underlying reasons.

destructive purposes

Highlights the aim to cause ruin or damage.

evil designs

Implies a carefully planned scheme to inflict harm.

malevolent aims

Focuses on the wish to do evil to others.

negative motivations

Refers to underlying reasons that produce undesirable results.

hostile objectives

Highlights the aggressive and unfriendly nature of the goals.

injurious purposes

Emphasizes the inclination to cause injury or damage.

pernicious schemes

Highlights the subtly harmful and destructive nature of the plans.

detrimental goals

Focuses on the aims that cause damage or disadvantage.

unfavorable motivations

Refers to the reasons that produce adverse outcomes.

FAQs

How to use "harmful intentions" in a sentence?

You can use "harmful intentions" to describe someone's motives, for example: "The suspect's actions revealed his "harmful intentions" towards the victim.".

What's the difference between "harmful intentions" and "malicious intent"?

"Harmful intentions" generally refer to the aim to cause damage, while "malicious intent" suggests a desire to do evil or inflict suffering. The latter implies a higher degree of wickedness.

What can I say instead of "harmful intentions"?

Alternatives include "malicious motives", "destructive purposes", or "evil designs", depending on the specific context.

Is it redundant to say "bad and harmful intentions"?

While not strictly redundant, using both "bad" and "harmful" can add emphasis. However, "harmful intentions" alone often suffices to convey the negative aspect of the intentions.