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)
adjective
-
carefully thought out in advance; planned; studied; intentional
a deliberate insult
-
careful or unhurried in speech or action
a deliberate pace
verb
Related Words
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
- deliberately adverb
- deliberateness noun
- deliberator noun
- nondeliberate adjective
- nondeliberateness noun
- overdeliberate verb
- overdeliberateness noun
- predeliberate verb (used with object)
- quasi-deliberate adjective
- redeliberate verb
- undeliberate adjective
- undeliberateness noun
- undeliberating adjective
- undeliberatingly adverb
- well-deliberated adjective
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.
It said it found the money not being spent how it was intended, was down to "poor skills and understanding" on managing public funds, "rather than any deliberate misinformation or fraudulent activity".
From BBC • Apr. 22, 2026
Some of that is deliberate cheating; some, maybe more, is from honest mistakes.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 18, 2026
“You need to take a more deliberate approach.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 14, 2026
“Over the past several years, we have taken deliberate steps to become a more focused medical technology organization,” Avanos CEO David Pacitti said in a statement.
From Barron's • Apr. 14, 2026
An Osage man in his seventies with expressive gray eyebrows and a deliberate manner, he served as the chief trial court judge.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
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.
