deliberating

verb

present participle of deliberate
as in pondering
to give serious and careful thought to the jury deliberated the case for three days before returning a verdict

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 deliberating After deliberating for just over an hour, the all-male, white, Protestant jury unanimously decided that 32-year-old spinster Borden didn’t commit a brazen daytime double homicide. — Savannah Walsh, Vanity Fair, 4 Aug. 2026 The Blue Jackets and Greaves can avoid that hearing by reaching terms on a new contract any time between now and the point at which the arbitrator begins deliberating after hearing both sides’ arguments. — Aaron Portzline, New York Times, 20 July 2026 Jurors began deliberating on Monday afternoon in the guilt-innocence phase of the trial. — Star-Telegram Staff. Produced With Ai Assistance, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 6 July 2026 The jury returned guilty verdicts after deliberating for less than two hours, according to the Webb County District Attorney's Office. — Brittany Miller, FOXNews.com, 2 July 2026 Mark Williams asked the judge Friday morning to give an Allen charge, urging the jurors to continue deliberating. — Rebecca Ellis, Los Angeles Times, 26 June 2026 The jury in that trial was unable to reach a verdict on the charge related to Mann and a mistrial was declared, as one juror refused to continue deliberating amid hostilities among their fellow jurors. — Caitlin Huston, HollywoodReporter, 25 June 2026 The jury began deliberating Wednesday morning. — Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 25 June 2026 Yes, the third branch of the US government just spent its time deliberating a legal question about our humble, underfollowed CEFs. — Brett Owens, Forbes.com, 25 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deliberating
  1. pondering
  2. contemplating
  3. debating
  4. considering
  5. studying
  6. entertaining
  7. questioning
  8. weighing
Verb
  • One lucky Maryland resident might be pondering that after becoming the state's third $1 million winner in the past two weeks.
    — Michelle Richardson, CBS News, 11 Aug. 2026
  • Engineers spent months pondering the approach in late 2025 and early 2026, when the only antenna that was able to communicate with Voyager 2 was down for repair anyway.
    — Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of pondering
Verb
  • Despite this seemingly critical importance to the automaker at a time when its profit margins are evaporating, Tesla may be contemplating a future without China.
    — Jonathan M. Gitlin, ArsTechnica, 4 Aug. 2026
  • A number of sports media sites and fan blogs took that to mean the Kings were contemplating a buyout, generating stories about possible destinations and LaVine’s potential fit with other teams.
    — Jason Anderson, Sacbee.com, 2 Aug. 2026
Definition of contemplating
Verb
  • This choice has left fans debating who or what is to blame if the movie is bad, or is not getting a big, splashy release.
    — Martha Ross, Mercury News, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Every hour spent debating where a model was built is an hour not spent building the controls that can stop this kind of incident from happening, regardless of its origin.
    — Shlomo Kramer, Fortune, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of debating
Verb
  • The two weren’t mentioned in the announcement, or in the royal family’s congratulatory post, and the entire British royal family has gone out of its way to separate itself from Andrew and Fergie, considering their recent scandals.
    — Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 6 Aug. 2026
  • Focusing only on what goes out the door — without considering what came in — paints an incomplete picture.
    — Zev Fima, CNBC, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of considering
Verb
  • Steven Harmon, a Baptist theologian at Gardner-Webb University who has spent decades studying Baptist history, says much of that change stems from the way denominational labels have become intertwined with political identity.
    — Théoden Janes, Charlotte Observer, 9 Aug. 2026
  • Researchers studying prostate cancer discovered three cases of biopsy sample misidentification over two years, according to a 2011 research paper.
    — Kim Chandler, Fortune, 8 Aug. 2026
Definition of studying
Verb
  • Later on, Bret wanders away from his friends and runs into Debbie’s father, Terry Schaffer (Wes Bentley), entertaining handsome young men in the hot tub.
    — Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 6 Aug. 2026
  • Coming off of the success of Corsage, an irreverent take on the 19th-century costume drama, Marie Kreutzer found that few were even entertaining the pitch for her next movie.
    — David Canfield, HollywoodReporter, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of entertaining
Verb
  • Conscious reading means questioning every line, editing unapologetically and removing the fluff your customers don't have time to read.
    — Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 6 Aug. 2026
  • The Times of London published a similar analysis of Arday's thesis that same day, questioning whether Arday should have cited his sources more heavily.
    — Mason Leib, ABC News, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of questioning
Verb
  • Cities around the country are weighing tradeoffs that come with data centers that require massive amounts of power and land.
    — Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN Money, 11 Aug. 2026
  • During testing, the robot moved a refrigerator weighing more than 100 pounds after training with substantially lighter loads.
    — Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of weighing

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deliberates
deliberating
deliberation
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Cite this Entry

“Deliberating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deliberating. Accessed 13 Aug. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of deliberating for Spanish Speakers

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