deliberative
Americanadjective
-
having the function of deliberating, as a legislative assembly.
a deliberative body.
-
having to do with policy; dealing with the wisdom and expediency of a proposal.
a deliberative speech.
adjective
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involved in, organized for, or having the function of deliberating
a deliberative assembly
-
characterized by or resulting from deliberation
a deliberative conclusion
Other Word Forms
- deliberatively adverb
- deliberativeness noun
- undeliberative adjective
- undeliberatively adverb
- undeliberativeness noun
Etymology
Origin of deliberative
1545–55; < Latin dēlīberātīvus, equivalent to dēlīberāt ( us ) ( deliberate ) + -īvus -ive
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
There are, however, still tangible benefits to this deliberative approach.
From Slate • Mar. 17, 2026
It is letting companies speed-run a process that can often be a deliberative slog relying on tried-and-true approaches.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 24, 2026
As cognitive scientists Keith Stanovich and Richard West have shown, humans possess two systems of thought: One fast and emotional, the other slow and deliberative.
From Salon • Nov. 3, 2025
Esteemed horror veteran Mike Flanagan is an executive producer and you can sense Stuckmann grabbing aimlessly in the last third for the kind of sickly visual elegance that is Flanagan’s deliberative style.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 23, 2025
These are what—in connection with forensic rhetoric in particular, though they have their analogues in the deliberative sphere—Aristotle calls “nontechnical proofs.”
From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
