French word

délibérer

Pronunciation

IPA/delibeʁe/

Meaning

  • verbdeliberate

Example

Le comité va délibérer aujourd'hui.

The committee will deliberate today.

Illustration for délibérer (deliberate)

More examples

Avant de répondre, prenons le temps de délibérer entre nous.

Before answering, let's take the time to deliberate among ourselves.

Core concept

A committee weighs a question together before choosing a course of action.

Common phrases

  • délibérer sur un point

    deliberate on a matter

  • délibérer entre nous

    deliberate among ourselves

Similar words

discuter: Exchange views to move a discussion forward.
décider: Make a final choice among several options.
débattre: Argue opposing positions while raising points for discussion.
réfléchir: Think deeply to arrive at a conclusion.

Definition in French

Soumettre une question à la réflexion et à la discussion d'un groupe pour parvenir à un choix.

Word origin

French délibérer comes from Latin deliberare, formed with de- and librare, "to weigh", from libra, "scales", for careful judgment.

Usage tips

  • In formal French, délibérer usually takes sur for the matter under discussion: délibérer sur une question; discuter is broader and more common in speech.

Other meanings

  • discussverb
  • considerverb

Opposites

Related words

Word lists with this word