deliberately

adverb

de·​lib·​er·​ate·​ly di-ˈli-bə-rət-lē 

-ˈlib-rət-

: in a deliberate manner: such as

a

: with full awareness of what one is doing : in a way that is intended or planned

trying deliberately to mislead us

a deliberately harsh review

It's very clear, however, that organizations funded in part by the fossil fuel industry have deliberately tried to undermine the public's understanding of the scientific consensus by promoting a few skeptics.

—Joel Achenbach

b

: in a way that is not hurried : slowly and carefully

speaking clearly and deliberately

He moves deliberately, almost cautiously, and he speaks with the assurance of someone who is accustomed to being listened to.

—Alec Wilkinson

Synonyms

• intentionally
• purposely

Examples of deliberately in a Sentence

deliberately chose to break the rules

Recent Examples on the Web

For decades, Washington’s security guarantees in the Middle East were left deliberately ambiguous. —Dan Perry, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Oct. 2025

The personality was evidently deliberately neutered. —Jordan Blum, Fortune, 3 Oct. 2025

The probe, which launched in 1997, spent years studying Saturn's icy moons before it was deliberately plunged into Saturn in 2017, ending its mission. —Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 3 Oct. 2025

Bear West’s owners in the online appeal said their eatery had been repeatedly targeted by vandals in the days leading to the fire, stopping short of saying the early Thursday fire was deliberately set. —Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 3 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above