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)
verb (used without object)
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
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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:
D4vd's defense lawyer Blair Berk said "there was no evidence of deliberate intention to kill."
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
"What we're seeing in tribunals is rarely the result of deliberate discrimination," says Lutfur Ali, a diversity and inclusion adviser at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, the professional body for HR.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
In addition, the incident was not caused by "an aggressive or deliberate manoeuvre", and it was on the opening lap, when more leeway is applied.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
Raz Zimmt, Iran director at Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies, said Trump’s interim deal is weakened by a lack of trust between the parties and the deliberate ambiguity in all of its provisions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
The people given four minutes to deliberate got the right answer a mere 20 percent of the time.
From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell
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
While the jury deliberates Majors' fate, the actor faces up to a year in jail if he is convicted of all four charges.
From Salon ● Dec. 14, 2023
It meets and deliberates in person —not via Zoom.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 17, 2023
An observer stands on the bank of a river which he has to swim over, and deliberates on the qualities of the water and on the strength of the current.
From Dictatorship vs. Democracy (Terrorism and Communism) by Trotzky, Leon Davidovich
The jury in 77-year-old George Gibney's deliberated for more than seven hours before returning a to give its verdict's on Monday afternoon.
From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026
“In this case, the jury has deliberated for 13 hours over the course of two days, the notes are unequivocal and clear,” Hwang said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026
The panel of seven women and five men first retired last week and had deliberated over four days.
From BBC ● Jun. 18, 2026
The Chicago jury, which deliberated from around two hours, found that "the total amount of damages suffered by Plaintiff is $49.5 million", according to documents.
From Barron's ● May 14, 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 eight men and two women on the jury had been deliberating over three days since Tuesday morning.
From BBC ● Jul. 3, 2026
The jury had been directed that it could reach a majority verdict, but jurors were discharged earlier after failing to do so after nearly 20 hours of deliberating.
From BBC ● May 20, 2026
If so, his lawsuit could be thrown out before the jury even starts deliberating the merits of the case.
From Barron's ● May 18, 2026
In the case underway in Los Angeles, a jury has been deliberating for eight days over social media harm allegations against Meta and YouTube after several weeks of testimony and arguments.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 24, 2026
Raheem and Leroy had stayed down at the courthouse, where the jury was deliberating.
From "The Rock and the River" by Kekla Magoon
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.
