Premeditated

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Carefully considered and intentionally executed actions that are determined in advance rather than occurring spontaneously
2. Actions that are designed and decided upon prior to their execution, emphasizing intent over impulse
3. Deliberately planned or arranged in advance before taking place

Etymology: "Premeditated" is the past participle of "premeditate", which English took directly from the Latin "praemeditatus", the past participle of "praemeditari", meaning "to think over beforehand." The Latin verb is built from "prae", "before", and "meditari", "to think over, reflect on," so the English word is literally a thinking-ahead of the thought. The "meditate" in its makeup carries the same Latin root as the calmer sense of the English word, which is a useful reminder that the two senses share a source. The adjective "premeditated" takes its current sense, a deliberate plan formed before an act, from that Latin base. Its legal weight comes from this sense: a crime is premeditated when the intent was formed in advance rather than in the moment.

Synonyms: planned, intentional, deliberate, calculated, forethought

Antonyms: spontaneous, unplanned, impulsive, accidental, hasty