premeditated

Everyday

Planned or thought about carefully beforehand, especially a crime or a bad act. tree →

In the lessons

Used in law and crime stories: a premeditated crime is planned, not done in a sudden moment, and courts usually treat it as more serious. In ethics lessons it helps compare doing harm on purpose and by accident.

Examples

• The judge said the attack was premeditated. tree →
• It wasn't an accident; it was premeditated. tree →
• The burglary was premeditated; they had studied the house for weeks. tree →
• A premeditated lie is worse than a mistake. tree →
• In the detective story, the murder was carefully premeditated. tree →
• The prank was premeditated, not spur-of-the-moment. tree →

Note

Adjective (from the verb premeditate). Opposite: spontaneous, unplanned, spur-of-the-moment. «Pre-» = before, «meditate» = think.