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
Many planters are opposed to giving their sons, whom they destine to succeed them as farmers, a classical education.
From The South-West By a Yankee. In Two Volumes. Volume 2 by Jonathon Holt Ingraham
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
It would be in fact but the prelude to that final return to Arabia which Arabian thought, if no other, destines for the Caliphate.
From The Future of Islam by Wilfred Scawen Blunt
"To begin with, that Monsieur Rupert had come to carry you off from the various noblemen, for one or other of whom his Majesty destines your hand."
From The Cornet of Horse A Tale of Marlborough's Wars by G. A. (George Alfred) Henty
Nevertheless, If English war-fleets be abreast Boulogne, As these deserters tell, and ripe to land there, It destines Bonaparte to pack him back Across the Rhine again.
From The Dynasts by Thomas Hardy
A woman, Captain Ellerey, who destines you for high service.
From Princess Maritza by Percy James Brebner
Even with “Digger,” Cruise’s most ambitious project in years, he confines himself to a loud, obnoxious character destined to be written about as a “big swing.”
From Salon ● Oct. 9, 2026
Kpler expects those barrels, most of which are destined for China, to be depleted by early to mid-October at the current pace.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
The fight arrives later than anybody wanted, with both in the twilight of their careers, but for years British boxing's biggest heavyweight rivalry seemed destined to remain a story of what might have been.
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026
One population expresses a gene called Otx2 and is destined to form the forebrain and midbrain.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 21, 2026
“It’s not about you! It’s what you’re destined to become. I’m saving everyone from you!”
From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas
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
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.
