deliberate
Americanadjective
-
carefully weighed or considered; studied; intentional.
a deliberate lie.
- Antonyms:
- accidental
-
characterized by deliberation or cautious consideration; careful or slow in deciding.
Moving away from the city and all its advantages required a deliberate decision.
- Synonyms:
- cautious, circumspect, thoughtful, methodical
- Antonyms:
- rash, precipitate, impulsive
-
leisurely and steady in movement or action; slow and even; unhurried.
moving with a deliberate step.
verb (used with object)
-
deliberates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
deliberated,
past participle, past
-
deliberating
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
deliberates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
deliberated,
past participle, past
-
deliberating
present participle
adjective
-
carefully thought out in advance; planned; studied; intentional
a deliberate insult
-
careful or unhurried in speech or action
a deliberate pace
verb
Synonym Usage
Deliberate, intentional, premeditated, voluntary refer to something not happening by chance. Deliberate is applied to what is done not hastily but with full realization of what one is doing: a deliberate attempt to evade justice. Intentional is applied to what is definitely intended or done on purpose: an intentional omission. Premeditated is applied to what has been planned in advance: a premeditated crime. Voluntary is applied to what is done by a definite exercise of the will and not because of outward pressures: a voluntary enlistment. See slow.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
deliberatenessnoun
-
deliberatornoun
-
nondeliberatenessnoun
-
overdeliberatenessnoun
-
undeliberatenessnoun
-
overdeliberateverb
-
redeliberateverb
-
predeliberateverb (used with object)
-
nondeliberateadjective
-
overdeliberateadjective
-
predeliberateadjective
-
quasi-deliberateadjective
-
undeliberateadjective
-
undeliberatingadjective
-
well-deliberatedadjective
-
deliberatelyadverb
-
undeliberatinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
deliberatesimple
-
deliberatessimple
-
have deliberatedperfect
-
has deliberatedperfect
-
am deliberatingprogressive
-
are deliberatingprogressive
-
is deliberatingprogressive
-
have been deliberatingperfect progressive
-
has been deliberatingperfect progressive
Past
-
deliberatedsimple
-
had deliberatedperfect
-
was deliberatingprogressive
-
were deliberatingprogressive
-
had been deliberatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of deliberate
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin dēlīberātus (past participle of dēlīberāre “to consider”), equivalent to dē- “from, away from” + līber(āre) “to balance, weigh” (derivative of lībra “balance, scales”) + -ātus past participle suffix; see de-, -ate 1
Explanation
To deliberate means to carefully think or talk something through — it also means slow and measured, the pace of this kind of careful decision making. If you chose deliberately, you make a very conscious, well-thought-through choice. The verb deliberate ends with an "ate" sound — at the end of a trial, after the evidence is presented, the twelve members of a jury retreat to a room to deliberate, i.e., talk through the trial and come to a verdict. The adjective deliberate ends with an "it" sound. If you walk with a deliberate pace, you're slow and steady.
Vocabulary lists containing deliberate
The Crucible
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"Of Mice and Men"
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Think Tank: Thought-Provoking Vocabulary
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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.
See Examples For:
Peter Sparkes, chief executive of the RNLI, said recent events had "generated deliberate misinformation and a misunderstanding about the RNLI".
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026
The plainness is deliberate; Fields conveys quiet comfort and adoring acceptance without ever slipping into sentimentality.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
But while a particular outcome might not have been foreseeable, the decision to delegate was deliberate and made by identifiable people based on evidence they either had or should have sought.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
The inquiry concluded that some of the mistakes in the investigation were negligent, while others were deliberate.
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026
Ms. Washington crosses her hands over her chest and starts to pace, taking deliberate steps.
From "A High Five for Glenn Burke" by Phil Bildner
And so, I think there has to be both a change to the way the Senate deliberates.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 7, 2026
The Fed is considering this scenario as it deliberates the future of monetary policy.
From Barron's ● Feb. 24, 2026
Individual states have taken actions intending to stop online danger for children as Congress deliberates.
From Washington Times ● Jun. 30, 2023
"Judges routinely give a 'clean up' instruction before a jury deliberates, telling them not to construe anything the court says as evidence, or as a suggestion of what their verdict should be," she tweeted.
From Salon ● May 1, 2023
At this point the presiding officer of the court ordered the room cleared "while the court deliberates."
From Recollections of a Varied Life by George Cary Eggleston
The prosecution rested, and the jury deliberated for five hours.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
The grim case led to a series of dramatic twists and turns as the jury deliberated for nearly 40 hours over seven days to determine Clancy's fate.
From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026
Nonetheless, a jury deliberated for five days and ultimately found Miles guilty.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026
After a three-week trial in June, the jury in Los Angeles deliberated for two days before declaring itself deadlocked on the original charges.
From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026
It felt like I deliberated our journey for hours, when in reality, we were there for only a few more seconds.
From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall
The judge declared a mistrial on 4 September after the jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict following nearly 40 hours of deliberating.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
After the jury spent nearly 40 hours deliberating, the judge declared a mistrial on Friday afternoon.
From Slate ● Sep. 4, 2026
The jury has been deliberating on the case since Thursday.
From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026
Now, was Warsh deliberating targeting the long end of the curve with the statement and ensuing press conference?
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 3, 2026
I’d been deliberating for hours whether or not to ask the question—even how to ask the question—and, finally, I just gave in and made a mess of it.
From "A Very Large Expanse of Sea" by Tahereh Mafi
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.
