destine
Americanverb (used with object)
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destines,
present (3rd person singular)
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destined,
past participle, past
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destining
present participle
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to set apart for a particular use, purpose, etc.; design; intend.
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to appoint or ordain beforehand, as by divine decree; foreordain; predetermine.
verb
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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destinesimple
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destinessimple
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have destinedperfect
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has destinedperfect
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am destiningprogressive
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are destiningprogressive
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is destiningprogressive
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have been destiningperfect progressive
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has been destiningperfect progressive
Past
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destinedsimple
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had destinedperfect
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was destiningprogressive
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were destiningprogressive
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had been destiningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of destine
1250–1300; Middle English destinen < Old French destiner < Latin dēstināre to establish, determine, equivalent to dē- de- + *stanāre, derivative of stāre to stand
Explanation
The verb destine means to predetermine the way something will end up. In Greek mythology, sharing fire with humans destines Prometheus to have his liver eaten by an eagle every day. Um, thanks? Scientists believe that failing to reverse climate change will destine our planet to some irreversible negative effects. And refusing to take swimming lessons might destine you to feeling left out every summer, as you watch your friends diving into pools and swimming holes. The Old French root is destinée, "purpose, intent, fate, or destiny."
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.
See Examples For:
Blake Hamilton and crew have done an outstanding job building and maintaining what is destine become a Lone Star icon.
From Time Magazine Archive
The Congress have seen such a necessity of an able commander in Canada, as to destine you for that most arduous service .
From Time Magazine Archive
Since Mussolini was believed to favor the Council, there was a rustle of Fascist surprise last week when he seemed to destine the Assembly to succeed the Chamber of Deputies.
From Time Magazine Archive
A checkup in the womb Is the unborn baby healthy, or does a defect destine it to an early death or a life of debilitating illness?
From Time Magazine Archive
Heav’n will surely plunge 230 The race of common wand’rers deep in woe, If thus it destine even Kings to mourn.
From The Odyssey of Homer by William Cowper
A score that destines young doctors-to-be to a life of ennui in a job they do not enjoy, because they could not match into the competitive specialty of their dreams.
From Scientific American ● Mar. 12, 2020
An ambitious man has a son whom he destines to a learned profession.
From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 15, No. 92, June, 1865 by Various
"That Providence destines this country to some great and glorious fate I must believe, while I witness the patriotism that pervades the bosoms of her lowest citizens," he said.
From The Spy by James Fenimore Cooper
Were they not the very ones to help a timid child whom God destines to become an apostle of apostles by prayer and sacrifice?
From The Story of a Soul (L'Histoire d'une Âme): The Autobiography of St. Thérèse of Lisieux With Additional Writings and Sayings of St. Thérèse by Thomas N. (Thomas Nimmo) Taylor
The crown to which fate destines thee, and which preternatural agents endeavour to bestow upon thee.
From The Works of Samuel Johnson, Volume 05 Miscellaneous Pieces by Samuel Johnson
It takes a gaggle of great actors to sell a show as objectively ridiculous as “The Gilded Age,” which is entering its fourth season and seems destined to continue forever.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2026
Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves are leading the revamped Lakers roster, but the team is still destined to endure a familiar early postseason exit.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 19, 2026
The trouble isn’t that every digital convenience is destined to malfunction.
From Salon ● Oct. 17, 2026
They were destined for private buyers in Germany.
From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026
This idea eventually came to be called Manifest Destiny—the belief that English-speaking Americans were destined to spread their presence and their ideals across the entire continent.
From "An Indigenous People’s History of the United States" by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
They awoke Henry III's dynastic ambition by promoting the elevation of his brother to be King of the Romans, and destining his younger son Edmund for the crown of Naples and Sicily.
From A History of England Principally in the Seventeenth Century, Volume I (of 6) by Leopold von Ranke
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