intent

purpose, aim or objective. Intent of a party or actor may be stated in the language of a document or implied by the person’s conduct.

Contracts: In contract formation, a party’s words and actions, judged by an objective reasonable person standard, may manifest an intention to agree, even if unexpressed intent is to the contrary. The evidence of objective intent will make such promises enforceable.

Criminal Law: Intent is particularly important in criminal law because criminal prosecutions focus on the mental state accompanying some particular act. In addition, intent may refer to the intent to engage a specific kind of conduct or to cause a particular result. The latter crimes are often called “specific intent” crimes, because the accused has the intent to cause a specific result, for example, defraud a victim.