predestine
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
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to foreordain; determine beforehand
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theol (of God) to decree from eternity (any event, esp the final salvation of individuals)
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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predestinesimple
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predestinessimple
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have predestinedperfect
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has predestinedperfect
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am predestiningprogressive
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are predestiningprogressive
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is predestiningprogressive
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have been predestiningperfect progressive
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has been predestiningperfect progressive
Past
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predestinedsimple
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had predestinedperfect
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was predestiningprogressive
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were predestiningprogressive
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had been predestiningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of predestine
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English predestinen, from Latin praedestināre; see pre-, destine
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:
Genes do not predestine one individual to complete fewer years of schooling than another or one individual to score higher on a cognitive performance test than another.
From Scientific American ● May 26, 2022
Tell what the following words mean: prefix, predict, prepare, prejudge, prescribe, predestine, precaution, precursor, prefigure, prearrange.
From De La Salle Fifth Reader by Christian Brothers
I answer that, It is fitting that God should predestine men.
From Summa Theologica, Part I (Prima Pars) From the Complete American Edition by Thomas, Aquinas, Saint
For he who knowingly makes a thing and places it in circumstances the operation of which on that thing he is perfectly acquainted with, does predestine that thing to whatever fate may befall it.
From Essays Upon Some Controverted Questions by Huxley, Thomas H.
Not so as to the motive that induced God to predestine certain individuals to the exclusion of others.
From Grace, Actual and Habitual A Dogmatic Treatise by Preuss, Arthur
Essentially, The Light and the Dark is a thesis novel designed to prove that a man's nature predestines his end.
From Time Magazine Archive
I answer that, Predestination is not anything in the predestined; but only in the person who predestines.
From Summa Theologica, Part I (Prima Pars) From the Complete American Edition by Thomas, Aquinas, Saint
Therefore, predestination is in the one who predestines, and not in the predestined.
From Summa Theologica, Part I (Prima Pars) From the Complete American Edition by Thomas, Aquinas, Saint
But neither of these things can be said of God when He predestines.
From Summa Theologica, Part I (Prima Pars) From the Complete American Edition by Thomas, Aquinas, Saint
Loving animal prints, from what I understand, is a predestined disposition for Leo women.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 7, 2026
In Yoruba culture, which predominates in the south-west of the country, twins are a blessing and their names are predestined.
From BBC ● May 9, 2024
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
It made me feel as though my encounter with Frankie’s crew hadn’t been some freak accident, but predestined.
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
During the Reformation, John Calvin asserted that hard-earned material success was a sign of God's predestining grace, thus solidifying the religious significance of work.
From Time Magazine Archive
In China, according to Dr. Dennys, the man in the moon is called Yue-lao, and he is believed to hold in his hands the power of predestining marriages.
From Storyology Essays in Folk-Lore, Sea-Lore, and Plant-Lore by Taylor, Benjamin
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.
