to all intents and purposes

alternative for all intents and purposes

1. UKidiomaticFor every functional purpose; in every practical sense; in every important respect; practically speaking.

   To all intents and purposes the case is closed.

   3 more examples

   This treaty is to all intents and purposes no longer viable.

   With the arrival of the cold war, relations between the two countries (for this is, to all intents and purposes, what they became after the end of the war) were almost completely broken off, with whole families split for the ensuing decades, some for ever.

   2011 December 19, Kerry Brown, “Kim Jong-il obituary”, in The Guardian

   Have you heard the word "gadgetbahn"? It's a portmanteau coined to describe transport proposals that, to all intents and purposes, ought to be delivered using proven railway technology... and yet go out of their way to be anything but a railway.

   2020 November 18, Gareth Dennis, “Can Cambridgeshire plan transform transportation?”, in Rail, page 64

   Synonyms: effectively, essentially, in essence, in effect, practically, virtually, TAIAP