Synonyms

preordain

American

[pree-awr-deyn] / ˌpri ɔrˈdeɪn /

verb (used with object)

to ordain beforehand; foreordain.

preordain British

/ ˌpriːɔːdɪˈneɪʃən, ˌpriːɔːˈdeɪn /

verb

(tr) to ordain, decree, or appoint beforehand

"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

preordination noun
unpreordained adjective

Etymology

Origin of preordain

First recorded in 1525–35; pre- + ordain

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.

But this weekend defied the notion that only a few schools were preordained to contend.

From The Wall Street Journal

People come into their careers with a preordained notion of what work they’re going to do.

From The Wall Street Journal

Ejae, meanwhile, offered an anecdote that suggests “Golden’s” success may have been preordained.

From Los Angeles Times

Daddis believes that “a twisted relation with faith and fear, if left unbroken, can only preordain the nation to a militarized way of life bounded by the grimness of war.”

From Salon

That Los Angeles would someday overtake San Francisco in prominence was in some respects preordained.

From Los Angeles Times

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