predestine
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
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to foreordain; determine beforehand
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theol (of God) to decree from eternity (any event, esp the final salvation of individuals)
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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predestinesimple
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predestinessimple
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have predestinedperfect
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has predestinedperfect
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am predestiningprogressive
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are predestiningprogressive
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is predestiningprogressive
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have been predestiningperfect progressive
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has been predestiningperfect progressive
Past
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predestinedsimple
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had predestinedperfect
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was predestiningprogressive
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were predestiningprogressive
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had been predestiningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of predestine
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English predestinen, from Latin praedestināre; see pre-, destine
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Genes do not predestine one individual to complete fewer years of schooling than another or one individual to score higher on a cognitive performance test than another.
From Scientific American • May 26, 2022
Tell what the following words mean: prefix, predict, prepare, prejudge, prescribe, predestine, precaution, precursor, prefigure, prearrange.
From De La Salle Fifth Reader by Christian Brothers
For he who knowingly makes a thing and places it in circumstances the operation of which on that thing he is perfectly acquainted with, does predestine that thing to whatever fate may befall it.
From Essays Upon Some Controverted Questions by Huxley, Thomas H.
V. predestine, preordain, predetermine, premeditate, resolve, concert; resolve beforehand, predesignate.
From Roget's Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases by Roget, Peter Mark
"But to whom dost Thou predestine the honor, holiness?"
From The Pharaoh and the Priest An Historical Novel of Ancient Egypt by Curtin, Jeremiah
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
