premeditate
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
Synonym Usage
See deliberate.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of premeditate
First recorded in 1540–50; from Latin praemeditātus, past participle of praemeditārī “to contemplate in advance”; see pre-, meditate
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.
Vocabulary lists containing premeditate
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:
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
“It is most plain,” said Euthydemus, “that it is he who deceives with premeditate design.”
From The Memorable Thoughts of Socrates by Henry Morley
Lawyers for Abramovich said: "The Judgment made no finding that the dilution was premeditated", or that it was "fraudulent".
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
“I thought he swung the bat pretty well. So, it’s a premeditated day off today. He’ll be back in there tomorrow, but I guess no news is good news.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026
The most effective off- the-cuff speeches are premeditated, and the best premeditated speeches appear off the cuff.
From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith
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 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
Boyish forethought stared her in the face and staggered her by its ghastly incongruities with the things this premeditating youth had done.
From The Spinners by Eden Phillpotts
On this island the castle was erected; and the basin was flooded from a little stream which the premeditating builder had previously diverted and dammed.
From Hastings and Neighbourhood by Walter Higgins
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.
