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deliberate

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verb

Synonym Chooser

How is the word deliberate different from other adjectives like it?

Some common synonyms of deliberate are intentional, voluntary, and willing. While all these words mean "done or brought about of one's own will," deliberate implies full consciousness of the nature of one's act and its consequences.

deliberate acts of sabotage

When is intentional a more appropriate choice than deliberate?

The meanings of intentional and deliberate largely overlap; however, intentional stresses an awareness of an end to be achieved.

the intentional concealment of vital information

When is it sensible to use voluntary instead of deliberate?

In some situations, the words voluntary and deliberate are roughly equivalent. However, voluntary implies freedom and spontaneity of choice or action without external compulsion.

a voluntary confession

Where would willing be a reasonable alternative to deliberate?

While the synonyms willing and deliberate are close in meaning, willing implies a readiness and eagerness to accede to or anticipate the wishes of another.

willing obedience

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of deliberate
Adjective
For more than a decade, Beijing has poured enormous resources into biotech research and development in a deliberate bid for global dominance. Sen. Todd Young, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Oct. 2025 Official stories have a deliberate, not necessarily sinister, design. Elizabeth D. Samet, Foreign Affairs, 29 Oct. 2025
Verb
Jurors deliberated for almost 12 hours after closing arguments ended late Tuesday morning. Selina Guevara, NBC news, 29 Oct. 2025 And the Senate is deliberating over the passage of a broader bill that governs crypto market structure and includes text about which federal agencies will regulate which classes of crypto assets. Ben Weiss, Fortune, 28 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for deliberate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deliberate
Adjective
  • Maybe the slower, more considered pace of life is exactly what is required to create a more sustainable place, and a more sustainable future.
    Emma John, AFAR Media, 20 Aug. 2025
  • At a time where equality is treated as an imposition on the other, Claire’s careful and considered story feels more relevant than ever.
    Dessi Gomez, Deadline, 6 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • Even calling it a magazine is a conscious way of trying to distinguish the work producers are putting months and months of effort into recording and writing from what podcasting has become.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 7 Nov. 2025
  • And while an uncertain economy and ever-skyrocketing cost of living are making people more price-conscious and wary, Razavi explained that this also opens up the possibilities for growth as consumers are now more open to other shopping avenues.
    Kanika Talwar, Footwear News, 6 Nov. 2025
Verb
  • Louise Hémon The jury would also like to acknowledge a director whose film transported us into an extreme landscape, and created an unsettling atmosphere that kept us contemplating the nature of lust, education, and violence.
    Christian Blauvelt, IndieWire, 24 Oct. 2025
  • Deacon clatters off in his truck, leaving me to contemplate my new home.
    Rowan Jacobsen, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Kara opposes this hate group, fighting the calculated acts of disinformation, intolerance, and bigotry.
    Sergio Pereira, Space.com, 29 Oct. 2025
  • The Ivy League graduate and former high school valedictorian has since become a polarizing public figure, viewed by some as a vigilante and others as a cold and calculated murderer.
    Chris Spargo, PEOPLE, 28 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • The Medicare prescription drug plan, known as Part D, is completely voluntary.
    Susan Tompor, Freep.com, 4 Nov. 2025
  • More than 1% of Americans headed west in one of the largest voluntary mass migrations in human history.
    Trevor Hughes, USA Today, 3 Nov. 2025
Verb
  • Just ask the folks who’ve made the college basketball committee which is currently pondering expanding its beautiful bracket to 76 teams.
    Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 5 Nov. 2025
  • As with many of A24's horror movies, we're left to ponder whether anything supernatural happens as Maud's quest reaches its apotheosis, proving that fanatical belief is enough to inspire great terrors.
    Dennis Perkins, Entertainment Weekly, 31 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • The ledger is the foundation of reasoned conclusion.
    Big Think, Big Think, 5 Nov. 2025
  • The differences between any given Grokipedia and Wikipedia entry are in some sense hard to debate because there is no shared ground upon which to have a reasoned disagreement; to gravitate toward Grokipedia is to leave the world of evidence for that of belief.
    Matteo Wong, The Atlantic, 28 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • The intentional walk has outlived its usefulness, as anybody who paid as much as $1,371 face value for a ticket to the three World Series games this week at Dodger Stadium can attest.
    Barry M. Bloom, Sportico.com, 31 Oct. 2025
  • And that was an intentional choice.
    Joe Kozlowski, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Deliberate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deliberate. Accessed 8 Nov. 2025.

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