nonintended

Nonintended is an adjective formed by applying the prefix non- to the participle intended. It denotes something not planned, not designed, or not part of the deliberate aim. In contemporary English, the sense is close to unintended, but nonintended is far less common and is often regarded as nonstandard or archaic outside certain technical or legal contexts.

Usage and frequency

The standard and overwhelmingly preferred term in most varieties of English is unintended. Nonintended appears infrequently and may be found in older texts, translations, or legal or highly formal writing where authors seek a stricter negation. When clarity and naturalness are priorities, unintended should be used. If nonintended is encountered, readers may question whether the author intends a specific contrast with an intended action or design, rather than a general lack of intent.

Relation to similar terms

Nonintended is related to other negated forms of intend, such as unintended and unintentional. While all convey lack of intention, unintended is the common collocation for results, effects, or actions that were not planned. Nonintended tends to appear only in particular stylistic or historical contexts and is generally avoided in everyday or standard professional writing.

Origins

Nonintended combines the negation prefix non- with the adjective intended, which itself derives from intend, ultimately from Latin intendere. The form mirrors other non- compounds in English, but its usage has not become established as a regular alternative to unintended.

See also

Unintended, unintentional, accidental, consequence, design, policy analysis.