We do need to be wary of the term, but I believe it's closer to the truth than the randomness, lack of teleology in neo-Darwinism. When I use it, I stress the 'intelligent' part but say that the 'design' is or may be a metaphor.

As those who advocate intelligent design say, life is so complex that it gives the appearance or impression of having been designed. The simplest explanation (Occam's razor) is therefore that life has been planned or designed in some sense. If there is a “non-dualistic ground of being that is intelligent” which is the source of everything, and the end result is the material universe, that suggests to me that somewhere in between there must be intention and planning of some kind. This doesn't have to be a single creator God, but presumably something equivalent or similar.