foreordain

[ fawr-awr-deyn, fohr- ]
See synonyms for: foreordainforeordained on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)
  1. to ordain or appoint beforehand.

  2. to predestine; predetermine.

Origin of foreordain

1
First recorded in 1400–50, foreordain is from the late Middle English word forordeinen.See fore-, ordain

Other words from foreordain

  • fore·or·dain·ment, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use foreordain in a sentence

  • Society has a right to prevent the oncoming of new generations of foreordained criminals.

    The Meaning of Evolution | Samuel Christian Schmucker
  • But the time that was foreordained from the beginning of the world for the bursting-forth of my secret came at last.

  • They found that I was a foreordained and predestined victim, and industriously proceeded to make life miserable for me.

    Theodore Roosevelt | Theodore Roosevelt

British Dictionary definitions for foreordain

foreordain

/ (ˌfɔːrɔːˈdeɪn) /


verb
  1. (tr; may take a clause as object) to determine (events, results, etc) in the future

Derived forms of foreordain

  • foreordainment or foreordination (ˌfɔːrɔːdɪˈneɪʃən), noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012