end in itself

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Idioms and Phrases

A purpose or goal desired for its own sake (rather than to attain something else). For example, For me, writing books is an end in itself; they don't really make that much money . This expression employs the noun end in the sense of “final cause or purpose,” a usage dating from the early 1500s.

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Running out the clock as an end in itself.

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In his article, O'Brien argued having a "pleasant, civilised nice place to live" was an end in itself.

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Risk aversion has become an end in itself.

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In all the hosannas to democracy from Biden and the political elites at MSNBC, what is lost is that democracy isn't an end in itself, but a means, ideally towards more good for more people.

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“This cannot become an end in itself. It only matters to the court so far as it is material and proportionate to the resolution of the individual causes of action.”

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

ending endive

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