premeditate

American  

[pri-med-i-tayt] / prɪˈmɛd ɪˌteɪt /

verb (used with object)

premeditated, premeditating

1. to meditate, consider, or plan beforehand.

   to premeditate a murder.

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premeditate British  

/ prɪˈmɛdɪˌteɪt /

verb

1. to plan or consider (something, such as a violent crime) beforehand

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Synonym Usage

See deliberate.

Other Word Forms

• premeditator
  noun
• premeditative
  adjective
• premeditatedly
  adverb

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Etymology

Origin of premeditate

First recorded in 1540–50; from Latin praemeditātus, past participle of praemeditārī “to contemplate in advance”; see pre-, meditate

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Explanation

When you premeditate, you are planning ahead. While most people associate this word with crime, let's hope you can think of a better reason to premeditate — like buying groceries before a storm. When you meditate, you think deeply. The prefix pre- means “before,” so to premeditate means to think about a situation before you’ve jumped into it. If you’ve ever cooked a meal, you’ve premeditated the ingredients you need to get started. In a courtroom you’ll hear about "premeditated murder," which means the accused killer planned out his crime and it wasn’t a crime of passion. Premeditating can be a good thing, but not when it involves murder.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

premeditate premeditated premeditating

Mayfield wouldn’t say what he’ll do against the Browns, adding “I’m not going to premeditate anything. Once I step inside the lines, I’m a competitor.’

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 30, 2022

But defense attorney Tom Jacquinot said in his opening statement that the evidence will show Vrba did not premeditate to kill Steinfeld, who was his friend.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 3, 2020

Derek was into discovering things that you couldn’t premeditate.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 24, 2020

When I decide to make a movie, I don't premeditate it.

From The Guardian ● Jan. 23, 2011

"You told me I wasn't to do anything that I meant to do: I certainly did not premeditate intercepting your telegrams—or answering them," he added.

From A Romance in Transit by Francis Lynde

Upon noticing a grouping of doors in one area when meeting Skeete in person, Fielder says, “Oh, door city over here,” a premeditated line he had actually rehearsed.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026

The leaked documents now suggest there was a premeditated attempt by Abramovich to reduce the value of the other investors' stake in the Siberian venture.

From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026

The prosecution’s argument is simpler and meaner, almost reminiscent of Steinbeck: Clancy’s actions were premeditated, her way of escaping a life she didn’t want anymore.

From Salon ● Oct. 3, 2026

They believe that this was intentional and premeditated, and I think they’re going to stand by those beliefs.

From Slate ● Sep. 4, 2026

None of this was premeditated, but sprang spontaneously out of the talk of black boys who met at the crossroads.

From "Black Boy" by Richard Wright

He is smart enough to possibly be given credit for premeditating this eremitic media strategy; he is also obstreperous enough simply to hate having his privacy invaded.

From Time Magazine Archive

The deadly, premeditated dullness of financial ads last week brought scornful shouts from two premeditating wits.

From Time Magazine Archive

No, say the four defense psychologists and psychiatrists who have examined Sirhan; as a paranoid schizophrenic, Sirhan was, in effect, incapable of fully premeditating his deed or weighing its risks.

From Time Magazine Archive

He had been premeditating an escape home to his mother's house in Guestwick, and thence back to London, without making any further appearance at the Manor House.

From The Small House at Allington by Anthony Trollope

If we really wish to decrease and discourage vice, however, let us go about it in a logical manner and hold up a terrible example to those premeditating crime.

From Said the Observer by Louis J. (Louis John) Stellman

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