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
There were no bits of cardboard with the names of stations printed on them to predestine our way; no baggage checks to consign our belongings to fixed destinations.
From Virginia: the Old Dominion by Hutchins, Frank W.
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
"But to whom dost Thou predestine the honor, holiness?"
From The Pharaoh and the Priest An Historical Novel of Ancient Egypt by Curtin, Jeremiah
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
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
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
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
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
The characters’ fate is predestined by cat-and-mouse conventions, and there are no big surprises when watching the parts come together.
From Salon ● Mar. 29, 2026
In the final scene of “Forrest Gump,” a white feather dances from Forrest’s feet, into the air, representing one of the movie’s major threads: Are life’s joys and agonies predestined, or are they indiscriminate?
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 26, 2025
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
STS rematerializes in predestined timeprint at 39.605829, -75.718580.
From "The First State of Being" by Erin Entrada Kelly
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.
