| n. | 1. | The act of meditating or contriving beforehand; previous deliberation; forethought. |
| Noun | 1. | premeditation - planning or plotting in advance of acting Synonyms: forethought |
| 2. | premeditation - (law) thought and intention to commit a crime well in advance of the crime; goes to show criminal intent |
PREMEDITATION. A design formed to commit a crime or to do some other thing
before it is done.
2. Premeditation differs essentially from will, which constitutes the
crime, because it supposes besides an actual will, a deliberation and a
continued persistence which indicate more perversity. The preparation of
arms or other instruments required for the execution of the crime, are
indications of a premeditation, but are not absolute proof of it, as these
preparations may have been intended for other purposes, and then suddenly
changed to the performance of the criminal act. Murder by poisoning must of
necessity be done with premeditation. See Aforethought; Murder.