destiny

noun

des·​ti·​ny ˈde-stə-nē 

plural destinies

1

: something to which a person or thing is destined : fortune

want to control my own destiny

2

: a predetermined course of events often held to be an irresistible power or agency

felt that destiny would determine their future

Synonyms of destiny

• fate

Choose the Right Synonym for destiny

fate, destiny, lot, portion, doom mean a predetermined state or end.

fate implies an inevitable and usually an adverse outcome.

the fate of the submarine is unknown

destiny implies something foreordained and often suggests a great or noble course or end.

the country's destiny to be a model of liberty to the world

lot and portion imply a distribution by fate or destiny, lot suggesting blind chance,

it was her lot to die childless

portion implying the apportioning of good and evil.

remorse was his daily portion

doom distinctly implies a grim or calamitous fate.

if the rebellion fails, his doom is certain

Examples of destiny in a Sentence

They believed it was their destiny to be together.

motivated by a sense of destiny

Recent Examples on the Web

In August 1781, a couple of months before the end of the war, Sedgwick and his co-counsel, a law professor named Tapping Reeve, appeared in the Great Barrington Inferior Court of Common Pleas, a small wooden building where a jury would decide the destinies of Freeman and Brom. — New York Times, 22 June 2026

Afterward, shareholders captured nearly all the gains—a conscious reallocation, not market destiny. — Steve Denning, Forbes.com, 21 June 2026

The Fourteenth Amendment was intended to right a wrong, not to beat Paraguay and Australia on the pitch—but then, American history is a long succession of accidents that lead to choices that, in retrospect, come to manifest as destiny. — Louisa Thomas, New Yorker, 20 June 2026

During the time of Paul’s tenure at the university, Glenn and Bette powerfully reclaimed their places at the center of the action, mostly because of destiny, and because of choices made by me, and even more by us as a couple. — Literary Hub, 18 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English destinee, from Anglo-French, from feminine of destiné, past participle of destiner — see destine

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing destiny

• manifest destiny

Kids Definition

destiny

noun

des·​ti·​ny ˈdes-tə-nē 

plural destinies

1

: something to which a person or thing is destined : fortune

2

: the course of events held to be arranged by a superhuman power