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
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
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
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
It is taken, however, in another sense for a mission which a person conceives in the mind; and in this manner we are said to destine a thing which we firmly propose in our mind.
From Summa Theologica, Part I (Prima Pars) From the Complete American Edition by Saint Thomas Aquinas
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
Thou knowest well that thy divine father destines thee to wed the Prince of Kush whom but now thou didst smite so fiercely.'
From The World's Desire by Henry Rider Haggard
What the Lord destines, he buys—some old iron, a bundle of rags, an old sack, or else a hide.
From Jewish Children by Hannah Berman
He is enraged at the suspicion that life, though past, may not be finished—that Faust's human soul may yet elude that hell to which he destines it ... that of annihilation.
From The Faust-Legend and Goethe's 'Faust' by H. B. (Henry Bernard) Cotterill
He has resolved to dry the different plants which appear to him most proper for the use to which he destines them, and to submit them afterwards to a trial by fire.
From The Solitary of Juan Fernandez, or the Real Robinson Crusoe by Joseph Xavier Saintine
And despite the "emotional rollercoaster" of nurturing a child destined to leave sooner rather than later, she would not change a thing.
From BBC ● Nov. 3, 2026
Many were destined for the large installation McGee’s friends helped to assemble for “Another Round,” his recently opened exhibition, which runs through Jan. 30.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026
Roughly 95% of LG Energy’s North American shipments were destined for grid-power use, SNE said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026
The trouble isn’t that every digital convenience is destined to malfunction.
From Salon ● Oct. 17, 2026
One turkey was destined for our table, one was for the hired help, and one was for the poor at the other end of town.
From "The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" by Jacqueline Kelly
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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