premeditation
Americannoun
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an act or instance of premeditating.
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Law. sufficient forethought to impute deliberation and intent to commit the act.
noun
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law prior resolve to do some act or to commit a crime
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the act of premeditating
Etymology
Origin of premeditation
1400–50; late Middle English < Latin praemeditātiōn- (stem of praemeditātiō ) a considering beforehand. See premeditate, -ion
Explanation
Premeditation is when you plan something ahead of time. A car thief's premeditation might include following a driver and noting where he typically parks his Mercedes. You're most likely to see the noun premeditation when someone's talking about crime. Almost any kind of crime or wrongdoing is considered worse, especially in a courtroom, if there's premeditation involved. An assault that's spontaneous isn't punished as harshly as one that involves premeditation, in which the attacker plans the assault before carrying it out. The Latin root, praemeditationem, combines prae, "before," and meditari, "to consider."
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.
He had delivered the day’s biggest laugh when, in a dramatic twist at the end of the trial, the prosecution had called him to the stand to prove premeditation on Gamble’s part.
From Slate • May 4, 2026
Judge Dino Fulgoni agreed that Bardo, who waived a jury trial, had lain in wait, saying he may have had schizophrenia but his condition did not preclude premeditation.
From Los Angeles Times • May 8, 2024
In “The Thing at Hand,” DiFranco embraces living completely in the moment, beyond identity or premeditation.
From New York Times • Mar. 29, 2024
"On the last occasion, he acted because of the pain she was under," he said, adding there was no premeditation.
From Reuters • Jun. 29, 2023
Colonel Cathcart winced at the words “black eye” and, without any apparent premeditation, hurled his slender onyx-and- ivory cigarette holder down viciously on the wooden surface on his desk.
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
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.
