premeditate

verb

pre·​med·​i·​tate (ˌ)prē-ˈme-də-ˌtāt 

premeditated; premeditating; premeditates

transitive verb

: to think about and revolve in the mind beforehand

… must premeditate the killing and deliberate about it …

—Wayne R. LaFave and Austin W. Scott, Jr.

intransitive verb

: to think, consider, or deliberate beforehand

premeditator

(ˌ)prē-ˈme-də-ˌtā-tər 

noun

Examples of premeditate in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

This evolution seems to have been premeditated. —Victor J. Blue, Harpers Magazine, 23 Nov. 2025

Her defense argued that Cummings' murder was not premeditated, which was requisite for Kessler to be convicted of first-degree murder. —ABC News, 21 Nov. 2025

However, according to The Monroe News, his charge was upped to open murder in November 2016, which allows a jury to determine if the crime was premeditated. —Kelsey Lentz, PEOPLE, 29 Oct. 2025

The defense argues the events were tragic and reckless but not premeditated, which would distinguish first-degree from second-degree murder. —Miguel Torres, AZCentral.com, 21 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Latin praemeditatus, past participle of praemeditari, from prae- + meditari to meditate

First Known Use

circa 1526, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Rhymes for premeditate

• abbreviate
• accelerate
• accommodate
• accumulate
• acuminate
• adjudicate
• adulterate
• affiliate
• agglomerate
• agglutinate
• alleviate
• amalgamate

Kids Definition

premeditate

verb

pre·​med·​i·​tate pri-ˈmed-ə-ˌtāt 

ˈprē-

: to think about and plan beforehand

premeditated murder

premeditation

pri-ˌmed-ə-ˈtā-shən, 

ˌprē-

noun

Legal Definition

premeditate

verb

pre·​med·​i·​tate pri-ˈme-də-ˌtāt 

premeditated; premeditating

transitive verb

: to think about or consider beforehand

must premeditate the killing and deliberate about it

—W. R. LaFave and A. W. Scott, Jr.

intransitive verb

: to think or consider beforehand