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predetermine

American  
[pree-di-tur-min] / ˌpri dɪˈtɜr mɪn /

verb (used with object)

predetermined, predetermining

  1. to settle or decide in advance.

    He had predetermined his answer to the offer.

  2. to ordain in advance; predestine.

    She believed that God had predetermined her sorrow.

  3. to direct or impel; influence strongly.

    His sympathy for poor people predetermined his choice of a career.
predetermine British  
/ ˌpriːdɪˈtɜːmɪn /

verb

  1. to determine beforehand

  2. to influence or incline towards an opinion beforehand; bias

"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

  • predetermination noun
  • predeterminative adjective
  • predeterminer noun

Etymology

Origin of predetermine

First recorded in 1615–25; pre- + determine

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.