- past tense form of predestine.
- past participle of predestine.
predestined
Americanadjective
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of predestined
First recorded in 1540–50; predestine + -ed 2 ( def. ) for the adjective; predestine + -ed 1 ( def. ) for the verb
Explanation
Predestined means decided by fate. If you believe the universe wants you to be a famous singer, you can say you're predestined to be a star. The word predestined means "decided or determined in advance." It comes directly from the Latin word praedestinare, which means “determine beforehand." It’s a word that’s popular in religious doctrine, where there’s a lot of attention paid to what the future holds and to what people should do and why. When something is predestined, it has been determined beforehand, and there’s nothing you can do to change it.
Vocabulary lists containing predestined
Much Ado About Nothing
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Prefixes: pre-
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Novel Study: 1984, Part 2
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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.
"Then Thou who didst with pitfall and with gin Beset the Road I was to wander in, Thou wilt not with Predestined Evil round Enmesh, and then impute my fall to sin."
From Song-Surf by Rice, Cale Young
Predestined is the term of thy long life; Short span is mine, And menaced by a thousand ills.
From The Heroic Enthusiasts (Gli Eroici Furori) Part the First An Ethical Poem by Williams, L.
"Predestined to be stung!" was, his first wife's laconic comment on her ex-husband.
From Angel Island by Gillmore, Inez Haynes
He asked, on another, if we had sold a copy of "Predestined" yet.
From Walking-Stick Papers by Holliday, Robert Cortes
So I salute you as a reptile grand Predestined to regenerate the land.
From The Devil's Dictionary by Bierce, Ambrose
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.
