November 4, 2014 – Word of the Day:  deliberate

A deliberate action is one that is planned in advance. A person does something that is intentional.

• The city took deliberate action to deal with homelessness downtown.
• The assault on the man was deliberate.
• The police took deliberate steps to reduce speeding through residential areas.

The word "deliberate" is often used as an adverb: deliberately.

• Sheila deliberately stepped on the man’s foot to get his intention.
• Did you do that deliberately, or was that just an accident?
• A fire in the village was set deliberately causing all the people to run for their lives.

The fire was set deliberately.

By changing the pronuniciation of this word to "deliberate" (with a long a sound), you can go from an adjective to a verb. To deliberate is to talk and think things over with other people.

• The jury deliberated the verdict for several days.
• Take some time to deliberate and call me when you have made a decision.
• The state is deliberating on how surplus tax money should be spent.

The word "deliberation" is a noun:

• A long, drawnout period of deliberation did not produce good results.
• He’s used to a lot of deliberation before making a decision.

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