Meaning & use
deliberately
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Meanings
adverbnot comparable
In a way that is planned and meant, not by accident.
Grammar: Usually goes before the main verb: he deliberately ignored me.
Patterns
- deliberately do something
- deliberately avoid something
She deliberately left the door open so the cat could come in.
The fire was started deliberately, according to investigators.
He deliberately misspelled the name to see whether anyone would notice.
adverbnot comparable
In a slow, careful way, with each step thought through.
Grammar: Describes how someone moves or speaks: she walked deliberately toward the stage.
Patterns
- move deliberately
- speak deliberately
The chess master moved his bishop deliberately across the board.
He spoke slowly and deliberately so that no one could misunderstand.
The surgeon worked deliberately, checking every stitch.
Common combinations
- deliberately misleading
- The advertisement was deliberately misleading.
- deliberately ignore
- He deliberately ignored the warning signs.
- deliberately provocative
- The comment was deliberately provocative.
- deliberately vague
- Her answer was deliberately vague.
- deliberately set
- Police believe the blaze was deliberately set.
Synonyms and how they differ
- intentionally
- Intentionally is almost identical in the first sense but does not carry the idea of slow, careful action.
- on purpose
- On purpose is the casual spoken version and sounds less formal in writing.
- knowingly
- Knowingly stresses that the person was aware of what they were doing, not necessarily that they planned it.
- purposely
- Purposely is a close match but is rarer and does not describe a careful manner.
Opposites
Word family
- deliberate adjective
- done on purpose, or careful and unhurried
- deliberate verb
- to think about something carefully before deciding
- deliberation noun
- careful thought or discussion before a decision
- deliberateness noun
- the quality of being intentional or careful
Commonly confused: deliberately or deliberate?
deliberately vs deliberate
The verb deliberate is pronounced with a final -ayt (to think carefully), whereas the adjective and adverb endings are pronounced -uht/-ət.
Practice
The vase did not just fall; the child pushed it ____ to see what would happen.
Choose one answer.
Deliberately means on purpose, which matches the child wanting to see the result. Accidentally is the opposite of what the sentence describes.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “deliberately”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.