calculated
Americanadjective
-
arrived at or determined by mathematical calculation; ascertained mathematically.
-
carefully thought out or planned.
a calculated effort.
adjective
-
undertaken after considering the likelihood of success or failure
a calculated risk
-
deliberately planned; premeditated
a calculated insult
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of calculated
Explanation
If you do something in a calculated way, you've given it quite a bit of thought beforehand, and you're very deliberate in the way you do it. Sometimes calculated can have a positive meaning, like when you plan ahead and are thoughtful about something. A good electrician takes a calculated approach to wiring a new house. On the other hand, a "calculated remark" could be one that's hurtful or manipulative and was made deliberately by the speaker to get a particular reaction or result.
Vocabulary lists containing calculated
"The Crucible" -- Vocabulary from all 4 Acts
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"The Crucible" -- Vocabulary from Act 1
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The Mark of Athena
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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.
He also ordered at that time the claimants should make an initial payment of £9.54m while the final total was calculated.
From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026
That compared with the average analyst forecast of A$2.32 billion, as calculated by Visible Alpha.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026
In fact, the researchers calculated that Siwarha is likely tens to hundreds of times too faint to be detected directly with the radio measurements they collected.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 4, 2026
A total of 42% of Americans have never calculated how much money they’ll need in retirement, according to a Evergreen.ai, a financial-planning platform.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 2, 2026
“It takes the average pupil four years for a diploma,” Tansy calculated.
From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
