predetermine
Americanverb (used with object)
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to settle or decide in advance.
He had predetermined his answer to the offer.
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to ordain in advance; predestine.
She believed that God had predetermined her sorrow.
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to direct or impel; influence strongly.
His sympathy for poor people predetermined his choice of a career.
verb
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to determine beforehand
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to influence or incline towards an opinion beforehand; bias
Other Word Forms
- predetermination noun
- predeterminative adjective
- predeterminer noun
Etymology
Origin of predetermine
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.
If residents couldn’t make it to these, there were predetermined “public temporary refuge areas” within each neighborhood, such as street intersections and homes with large cleared backyards, that provide some increased chance of survival.
From Los Angeles Times
There wouldn’t be much reason to worry “about the direction of men,” she observes, “if it were really as predetermined by how much testosterone you have and how much estrogen I have.”
From Salon
"Looking ahead, policy is not on a predetermined path," Cook said.
From Barron's
“So it’s unfortunate that some of those voices are now gonna be silenced with a predetermined winner in their district.”
From Los Angeles Times
This particular mix pairs pragmatists with hawkish officials who have consistently emphasized inflation risks, a combination that argues against any predetermined cutting schedule.
From Barron's
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.
