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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 The jury spent a week deliberating in Plymouth Superior Court in Plymouth, Massachusetts, where supporters and onlookers gathered outside for days awaiting a possible verdict. — James Cirrone, FOXNews.com, 5 Sep. 2026 The judge then reread his instructions on reasonable doubt before sending them back to continue deliberating. — ABC News, 4 Sep. 2026 Reddington once again petitioned the judge to allow the jury to keep deliberating without the one juror who was in the way of a unanimous verdict, asking him to dismiss the juror and let the others continue with an alternate. — Rebecca Cohen, NBC news, 4 Sep. 2026 Reddington variously asked the judge either to remove the holdout and replace him with an alternate or to order the jury to continue deliberating. — Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 4 Sep. 2026 Over a month later, a jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict after deliberating for weeks and a judge declared a mistrial. — Selena Barrientos, PEOPLE, 4 Sep. 2026 After deliberating further, the jury unanimously reached a not-guilty verdict on that charge, while convicting him of other charges. — Rebekah Riess, CNN Money, 3 Sep. 2026 Jurors began deliberating in the murder trial of Lindsay Clancy, who killed her three young children at their Massachusetts home in 2023. — David A. Graham, The Atlantic, 27 Aug. 2026 After deliberating, the jury returned guilty verdicts against both men. — Cora Engelbrecht, New Yorker, 24 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deliberating
  1. pondering
  2. contemplating
  3. debating
  4. considering
  5. studying
  6. entertaining
  7. questioning
  8. weighing
Verb
  • There’s plenty Duren could be pondering in regard to his value to the team as a whole.
    — Hunter Patterson, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
  • Kronengold and Shaw are still pondering what will come of that if Adults gets to be renewed.
    — Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of pondering
Verb
  • While all of this is happening, Paul also reconnects with Ben, a musician who viewers met during Season 4, and begins contemplating yet another relationship.
    — Krystie Lee Yandoli, USA Today, 10 Sep. 2026
  • Pegula advanced to face Sorana Cirstea, the 36-year-old from Romania who is contemplating retirement after this season.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of contemplating
Verb
  • Voyager 1 became the first spacecraft to reach interstellar space in 2012, although scientists are still debating about exactly where that boundary lies.
    — Tariq Malik, Space.com, 5 Sep. 2026
  • Schrader approaches some pretty tetchy, third-rail territory, doing some debating about whether one act of child abuse means that John is, inherently, a child abuser by nature.
    — Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of debating
Verb
  • The panel's decision comes even as the Supreme Court is already considering the same case, which is part of a frenzied legal rush as states are beginning to send out mail ballots for this fall's midterm elections.
    — NICHOLAS RICCARDI, Arkansas Online, 11 Sep. 2026
  • It may be overlooked, considering how comfortable Suzuki appears when carrying out Unai Emery’s ploy of his backline baiting an opponent’s press, but at Parma, he was required to kick mostly long.
    — Aston Villa, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of considering
Verb
  • His team has recently been studying how hearing factors into this, and preliminary findings indicate that the sounds people make while swimming can make a shark more likely to approach from a distance.
    — Alex Wigglesworth, Los Angeles Times, 5 Sep. 2026
  • Another successful student is Surovi Khatun, an undergrad student currently studying at Nawab Siraj-Ud-Dowla Government College of Natore, a neighboring district of Pabna.
    — Ali Asif Shawon, NPR, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of studying
Verb
  • In Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo’s La Bola Negra (Netflix), Cruz plays a bawdy cabaret singer entertaining troops during the Spanish Civil War.
    — Scott Feinberg, HollywoodReporter, 10 Sep. 2026
  • Johnson has generally not been interested in entertaining questions about last season.
    — Kevin Fishbain, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of entertaining
Verb
  • The panel’s findings led to a surge of media interest in the UK and around the world questioning the strength of the prosecution’s case.
    — Billy Stockwell, CNN Money, 15 Sep. 2026
  • Leaders should continue questioning whether the way their business operates still makes sense for where the company is today.
    — Dmitriy Schwarzburg, Forbes.com, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of questioning
Verb
  • Concrete barriers designed to keep cars out of the secure area crumbled as the jet, weighing more than 100 tons, headed straight for a four-lane road.
    — Maria Aguilar Prieto, CNN Money, 7 Sep. 2026
  • After officials finished weighing and measuring it, Harmon returned the giant blue catfish alive to the Ohio River near where it was caught.
    — Amber Harding OutKick, FOXNews.com, 6 Sep. 2026
Definition of weighing

Browse Nearby Words

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 17 Sep. 2026.

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