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Thought of, or planned, beforehand; aforethought; prepense; hence, deliberate. "Forethought malice." Bacon.

Having forethought. [R.]

Premeditated; prepense; previously in mind; designed; as, malice aforethought, which is required to constitute murder. Bouvier.

To adjust for purpose; to adapt by forethought or calculation; to fit or prepare by the adaptation of means to an end; as, to calculate a system of laws for the government and protection of a free people. [Religion] is . . . calculated for our benefit. Abp. Tillotson.

Adapted by calculation, contrivance. or forethought to accomplish a purpose; as, to use arts calculated to deceive the people.

Given to contrivance or forethought; forecasting; scheming; as, a cool calculating disposition. Calculating machine, a machine for the mechanical performance of mathematical operations, for the most part invented by Charles Babbage and G. and E. Scheutz. It computes logarithmic and other mathematical tables of a high d…

Action in reference to the future; provident care; prudence; wise forethought. This seems an unseasonable foresight. Milton. A random expense, without plan or foresight. Burke.

Not provident; wanting foresight or forethought; not foreseeing or providing for the future; negligent; thoughtless; as, an improvident man. Improvident soldires! had your watch been good, This sudden mischief never could have fallen. Shak.

Object or duty of forethought and care; responsibility. [Colloq.]

That which happens without human design or forethought; chance; accident; hazard; fortune; fate. But save my life, which lot before your foot doth lay. Spenser.

use or excuse; a wanton disregard of the rights or safety of others; willfulness. Malice aforethought or prepense, malice previously and deliberately entertained.

The offense of killing a human being with malice prepense or aforethought, express or implied; intentional and unlawful homicide. "Mordre will out." Chaucer. The killing of their children had, in the account of God, the guilt of murder, as the offering them to idols had the guilt of idolatry. Locke. Slaughter grows mur…

The act of meditating or contriving beforehand; previous deliberation; forethought.

Devised, contrived, or planned beforehand; preconceived; premeditated; aforethought; -- usually placed after the word it qualifies; as, malice prepense. This has not arisen from any misrepresentation or error prepense. Southey.

Anticipation; esp., anticipation of needs or wishes; hence, precaution; forethought. [Obs.] Hammond. Shak.

sensible; -- opposed to rash; as, a prudent man; dictated or directed by prudence or wise forethought; evincing prudence; as, prudent behavior. Moses established a grave and prudent law. Milton.

To lead (one) to do suddenly and without forethought; to bring (one) into some unexpected state; -- with into; as, to be surprised into an indiscretion; to be surprised into generosity.