predestine
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
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to foreordain; determine beforehand
-
theol (of God) to decree from eternity (any event, esp the final salvation of individuals)
Other Word Forms
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.
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
"But to whom dost Thou predestine the honor, holiness?"
From The Pharaoh and the Priest An Historical Novel of Ancient Egypt by Curtin, Jeremiah
The face is somewhat like that young prisoner's; the same mystical, prescient melancholy in the wide eyes, as if she realized she was predestine to work woe.
From At the Mercy of Tiberius by Evans, Augusta J. (Augusta Jane)
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
V. predestine, preordain, predetermine, premeditate, resolve, concert; resolve beforehand, predesignate.
From Roget's Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases by Roget, Peter Mark
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.
