Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The act or process of deliberating.
  • noun Discussion and consideration of all sides of an issue.
  • noun Thoughtfulness in decision or action.
  • noun Leisureliness in motion or manner.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The act of deliberating; the act of weighing and examining conflicting reasons or principles; consideration; mature reflection.
  • noun Mutual discussion and examination of the reasons for and against a measure: as, the deliberations of a legislative body or a council.
  • noun Slowness in decision or action: as, he spoke with the greatest deliberation.
  • noun In criminal law, reflection, however brief, upon the act before committing it; fixed and determined purpose, as distinguished from sudden impulse.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The act of deliberating, or of weighing and examining the reasons for and against a choice or measure; careful consideration; mature reflection.
  • noun Careful discussion and examination of the reasons for and against a measure.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun The act of deliberating, or of weighing and examining the reasons for and against a choice or measure; careful consideration; mature reflection.
  • noun Careful discussion and examination of the reasons for and against a measure; as, the deliberations of a legislative body or council.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun careful consideration
  • noun the trait of thoughtfulness in action or decision
  • noun (usually plural) discussion of all sides of a question
  • noun planning something carefully and intentionally
  • noun a rate demonstrating an absence of haste or hurry

Etymologies

Sorry, no etymologies found.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word deliberation.

Examples

  • The discussion of the deliberation is interesting.

    Matthew Yglesias » NYT Going Paid: What Does It Mean for Me? 2010

  • All my deliberation is foolish anyway as I will probably be completely overwhelmed by my first con-experience.

    A Part, Yet Apart at SF Novelists 2009

  • I wonder how much of this deliberation is driven by the administration realizing that the Bush administration so badly compromised the integrity of any civil trial by its extralegal treatment of KSM while in custody that they are no longer confident in their ability to get a conviction.

    Think Progress » Caving To Right-Wing Pressure, White House Reportedly Moving KSM Trial To Military Commission 2010

  • The Consumer Product Safety Commission has been mired for weeks in deliberation as it writes guidelines on what makes a product a "children's product" -- and consequently which products would have to undergo more stringent safety testing as part of a 2008 law.

    Not in My Backyard James Taranto 2010

  • The point of deliberation is to make sound decisions about how to act after a review of the relevant considerations and a chance for all parties to the decision to put the case for their views.

    Matthew Yglesias » Governments Should Govern 2010

  • I wonder how much of this deliberation is driven by the administration realizing that the Bush administration so badly compromised the integrity of any civil trial by its extralegal treatment of KSM while in custody that they are no longer confident in their ability to get a conviction.

    Think Progress » Caving To Right-Wing Pressure, White House Reportedly Moving KSM Trial To Military Commission 2010

  • Here the lay judges get a chance to question the victim and they sit in deliberation with the professional judges to decide not just guilt or innocence, but also the sentencing.

    Introducing the lay judge system: part 2 of 2 2009

  • For example, their approach to studying argument and deliberation is to construct and apply stringent rules in order to secure transparent and non-manipulative discourse in carefully monitored forums (incidentally, these sorts of models only work well if you presume that all speakers voices are given equal weight and consideration – that all have equal power).

    Matthew Yglesias » The American Way 2009

  • He chose the word troglodyte with deliberation; it comes from a Greek word meaning cave dweller.

    From Savage to Savvy: A New Understanding of Chimps 2010

  • These occurrences are equally important for what they indicate about McCain's governing style as they are for their impact upon democratic process: impulsive acts that rely on drama and theatrical posture rather than substantive reasoning and long-term deliberation; a strong willingness to sacrifice substantive reasoning, deliberative process, and even prior structures and agreements to immediate political need; an attempt to reach outcomes through last minute stage management rather than substantive argument.

    Obama: Congress "Close To A Deal" On Bailout Package 2009

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.