These words mean to have in mind the doing of some act or the attainment of some goal. Intend has the widest range of implication. It may involve no more than vague thoughts or half-hearted resolves.

• I intend to clean out the spare room sooner or later; always intending but never doing.

Or it may imply a firm decision taken with regard to an immediate or ultimate goal.

• I intend to see to it that my son is not late again; They intend to work hard and save to put their children through university.

Mean is synonymous with intend in both its strong and its weak sense, implying either a truly firm resolve or a merely professed purpose.

• I mean to go, and nothing is going to stop me; I’ve been meaning to write to you for weeks.

But mean is a less formal word than intend , well suited to everyday speech and writing; and it is more often used than intend to express a dubious, weak or unrealized resolve.

• I mean to visit her, but I never got round to it.

Mean is also used to claim or give credit for good intentions when an action has backfired.

• I’m sure he meant well; I meant no harm – I only meant to help.

Aim, like mean, is informal in tone. It points, though, to an actual goal, purpose or intention, as distinguished from an avowed one that is open to doubt.

• What do you aim to do?; I aim to succeed.

Further, aim may imply not only intent but also efforts, though without the suggestion of failure often conveyed by mean.

• I aim to please.

Propose , in one sense, is closely synonymous with intend : he proposes to go on to university after high school. But propose generally goes beyond intend and aim in implying that an intention or design has been clearly formulated in the mind, and often announced to others.

• What do you propose to do?; I propose to rally the forces and attack at dawn; The Council proposes to build an additional child-minding centre in the city.

Plan , like intend , may sometimes imply only a vague goal or indefinite resolution that is not being currently acted upon: He plans to go to Europe some day. But plan may be, and often is, much more definite than intend , implying the taking of active steps towards the realization of an intention. Such planning involves a consideration of the ways and means of achieving a goal and the making of arrangements, in advance.

• I plan to leave on August 4, have made airline reservations for the date, and have applied for a passport.

In an intransitive sense, plan and propose may be closely synonymous.

• He is always planning but seldom carries through with his schemes; Man never does all that he proposes .

Propose may also mean to make an offer of marriage.

To contemplate is to consider or anticipate, to turn over in the mind. Contemplate implies a greater immediacy than intend , mean or aim but much less definiteness than propose or plan .

• She intends to get married when she grows up; He is contemplating marriage but has not yet proposed ; She is contemplating a trip to Europe, but she hasn’t planned it yet.