premeditate

[pri-med-i-teyt]

verb (used with object)

premeditated, premeditating 

1. to meditate, consider, or plan beforehand.

   to premeditate a murder.

premeditate

/ prɪˈmɛdɪˌteɪt /

verb

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

Other Word Forms

• premeditative adjective
• premeditator noun
• premeditatedly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of premeditate¹

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

Synonym Study

See deliberate.

Example Sentences

The prosecutor believed the blast had taken place on a floor above the entrance and told reporters it was a "premeditated and voluntary homicide".

Read more on BBC

The prosecutor’s office added that early investigations indicated the attacks on government property were premeditated.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

When it came to the sentence that Prowell would receive, a probation officer wrote that his “callous and premeditated” crimes would have continued if he hadn’t been caught.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

“I killed Robert F. Kennedy willfully, premeditatedly, and with 20 years of malice aforethought,” he told the court, later explaining it was a reference to the 1948 birth of Israel.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Sentencing the boy, Judge Rai told him his actions had been "extensively planned" and were "clearly premeditated".

Read more on BBC