- past tense form of predestine.
- past participle of predestine.
predestined
Americanadjective
verb
Other Word 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.
"The programme emphasises that the genetic insights revealed in the films shed light on Hitler, but they don't tell us he was biologically predestined to behave in a particular way."
From BBC ● Nov. 14, 2025
Whereas his documentary films crackle thanks to his unpredictable interactions with his subjects, “The Damned” cannot help but feel slightly overdetermined, the outcomes predestined rather than organically unearthed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 2025
Artificial intelligence seems predestined to become a bigger part of our lives.
From Slate ● Dec. 1, 2023
"I genuinely believe there's something predestined about it," Michael recalled.
From Salon ● Jul. 6, 2023
STS rematerializes in predestined timeprint at 39.605829, -75.718580.
From "The First State of Being" by Erin Entrada Kelly
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
