These words refer to a belief that something is the case. Consider can indicate a belief reached after thoughtful deliberation or intimate experience.

• All the critics considered the book a masterpiece; Most of the soldiers considered the guerilla force to be a formidable opponent.

A favourable verdict is not always necessary: Scientists of that day considered his experiments to be without merit. Regard comes from a French word meaning to look at. Compared with consider , regard often reflects its derivation by suggesting a more external assessment or, sometimes, a visual one: He regarded his wife as a beauty, though others found her plain. Again, a positive judgement is not inevitable, despite the word’s related use referring to approval: They regarded him as a harmless fool.

Count and reckon literally to numbering or to figuring sums; in the present context, they seldom carry this sense over, though they do refer to the forming of a judgement. Here, count is most often restricted to stock phrases: counting himself lucky; counting the day well spent. Reckon suggests the weighing of evidence on all sides: He was reckoned by everyone to be an honest man. But the word has lost ground to its informal or dialect use, meaning to suppose or guess: I reckon it’s time to go. This use has been popularized by Western movies and television programs.

Deem is now somewhat formal and occurs perhaps more often in legal contexts than in other contexts. It refers more to opinion than belief, but to opinion arrived at after deliberation; if the opinion is that of a judge it may well be as firm or binding as the belief implied by consider and regard: The judge deemed it inadvisable to hear the appeal. Deem almost always carries with it a note of authority: He was deemed a traitor by his own people.