Premeditations

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The act of planning or considering an action beforehand, often implying intent or forethought in decision-making
2. Deliberate contemplation regarding potential actions or outcomes, frequently associated with the legal context of intent
3. A careful and thoughtful preparation for future actions, highlighting the significance of prior thought in that process

Etymology: "Premeditations" is the plural of "premeditation," which is formed from the verb "premeditate" plus the noun-forming suffix "-ion." The verb is a compound of the prefix "pre-" ("before") and "meditate," which came into English in the late 1500s from Latin "meditari," meaning to think over or reflect upon. So the word's core sense is simply thinking ahead of time, and the legal sense of deliberate planning developed from that base. The plural form is the one that carries the most specific legal weight. In criminal law, a "premeditation" refers to the planning that separates, for example, a murder from a sudden killing in the heat of the moment, and courts often speak of premeditations in the sense of individual acts of planning or intent. The noun form itself is attested in English from the 1600s, when writers used it for the act of considering something in advance.

Synonyms: planning, forethought, intention

Antonyms: impulsiveness, spontaneity