Synonyms

ordain

American

[awr-dayn] / ɔrˈdeɪn /

verb (used with object)

to invest with ministerial, priestly, or rabbinical functions.
to enact or establish by law, edict, etc..

to ordain a new type of government.
to decree; give orders for.

He ordained that the restrictions were to be lifted.

Synonyms:

determine, prescribe, order
(of God, fate, etc.) to destine or predestine.

Fate had ordained the meeting.

Synonyms:

predetermine

verb (used without object)

to order or command.

Thus do the gods ordain.
to select for or appoint to an office.
to invest someone with sacerdotal functions.

ordain British

/ ɔːˈdeɪn /

verb

to consecrate (someone) as a priest; confer holy orders upon
(may take a clause as object) to decree, appoint, or predestine irrevocably
(may take a clause as object) to order, establish, or enact with authority
obsolete to select for an office

"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

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future

Etymology

Origin of ordain

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English ordeinen, from Old French ordener, from Latin ordināre “to order, arrange, appoint”; see ordination

Explanation

To ordain is to make someone a minister, priest, monk, or other member of the clergy. In the Catholic church, for example, a bishop ordains new priests. When you say that people have been ordained, you usually mean that they've been invested with special religion-related powers. In many Buddhist traditions, senior monks ordain new monks and, increasingly, female monks (or nuns) as well. Occasionally, this chiefly religious verb is used to mean "officially declare" or "decree" in a secular matter, as when a court ordains desegregation.

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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.

See Examples For:

ordain ordains ordained ordaining

The SBC ousted Saddleback Church in Costa Mesa, once the second-largest megachurch in the denomination, earlier this year over its decision to ordain female pastors.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 5, 2023

It also acknowledged the need to train more Afaan Oromo speaking priests and agreed to ordain more ethnic Oromos among high ranking clergy, it said in a statement.

From Reuters ● Feb. 16, 2023

The incident has put a spotlight on the longtime divide within the global Anglican Communion over whether to accept same-sex marriages and ordain openly gay priests and bishops.

From New York Times ● Sep. 23, 2022

For so thou didst ordain, when thou createdst me, saying,

From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2022

Then Scythe Mandela said, “Ransom Paladini, we have chosen not to ordain you as a scythe. Wherever life leads you, we wish you well. You are dismissed.”

From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman

For now, the government seems confident that experts can indeed devise a safe, rigorous and consistent system for deciding which patients live and which ones die, as the statute ordains.

From Washington Post ● Nov. 16, 2021

Some are even considering leaving the Catholic Church to join other communities, including a movement that ordains women priests.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 7, 2021

It also suggested that future appointments might be influenced by a bishop's views on women clergy, saying that "many dioceses will want to insist that their diocesan bishop should be someone who ordains women".

From Reuters ● May 24, 2013

Her writing has always been hostile to the idea of a primitive, “natural” womanhood that ordains us to behave in certain ways.

From Slate ● Apr. 25, 2012

I bent above each one, and gently said: ‘Wake from your sleep: no more sweet slumber. Come, we sail: the Lady Kirke so ordains it.’

From "The Odyssey" by Homer

The Chosen Ones Espenson cites are part of a destiny ordained either by their bloodline or some greater lineage.

From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026

Oakley was born in Stourbridge, West Midlands, and ordained as a priest in 1980 before becoming Bishop of Northampton in 2020.

From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026

Forer is an ordained rabbi who mentors clerks and others entering the legal field.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2026

Menjivar-Ayala, who is fluent in English, Spanish and Italian, was ordained as a priest in 2004 and became a bishop in 2023.

From Barron's ● May 1, 2026

It may be ordained that we have many nights and days to follow, if full of peril; but we must go on, and from no danger shall we shrink.”

From "Dracula" by Bram Stoker

In 1988, Pope John Paul II issued a similar appeal to that of Pope Leo but failed to stop the society from ordaining bishops.

From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 2026

In 1787-91, Americans dramatically strengthened their union by ordaining a new-minted document, the Constitution, which repeatedly referred to American citizenship.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2025

And finally, in 1787, one of the declared objects for ordaining and establishing the ”Constitution” was "to form a more perfect Union."

From Salon ● Dec. 16, 2023

But he has established two commissions to study ordaining women deacons — a practice that existed in the early church, according to historical evidence.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 10, 2023

The latter in being ordained had the Gospel laid on their heads, and the same feature occurs in old Gallican and Coptic rites of ordaining a bishop.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 5 "Cat" to "Celt" by Various

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023