deliberation

[dih-lib-uh-rey-shuhn]

noun

1. careful consideration before decision.

   Synonyms: forethought, reflection

2. formal consultation or discussion.

3. deliberate quality; leisureliness of movement or action; slowness.

deliberation

/ dɪˌlɪbəˈreɪʃən /

noun

1. thoughtful, careful, or lengthy consideration

2. (often plural) formal discussion and debate, as of a committee, jury, etc

3. care, thoughtfulness, or absence of hurry, esp in movement or speech

Other Word Forms

• nondeliberation noun
• overdeliberation noun
• predeliberation noun
• redeliberation noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of deliberation¹

1325–75; Middle English deliberacion < Latin dēlīberātiōn- (stem of dēlīberātiō ), equivalent to dēlīberāt ( us ) ( deliberate ) + -iōn- -ion

Example Sentences

The jury returned a verdict after three hours of deliberation.

Read more on BBC

That leaves the Fed’s deliberations comparable to “trying to bring a boat to shore in the pitch black and having the lighthouse go dark,” Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin said this week.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The panel will have the October Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or Jolts, on the first day of its deliberations, Dec. 9, and the ADP report on private employment on Dec. 3.

Read more on Barron's

The panel will have the October Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or Jolts, on the first day of its deliberations, Dec. 9, and the ADP report on private employment on Dec. 3.

Read more on Barron's

Minutes released next week will shed more light on how the committee’s divisions played out during the Fed’s October deliberations.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• conference 
• consideration 
• consultation 
• debate 
• speculation