ordain

verb or·dain \ ȯr-ˈdān \

Updated on: 17 May 2018

Definition of ordain

transitive verb

1 : to invest (see ¹invest 1) officially (as by the laying on of hands) with ministerial or priestly authority

was ordained as a priest

2 a : to establish or order by appointment, decree, or law : enact

we the people … do ordain and establish this Constitution
—U.S. Constitution

b : destine, foreordain

It is futile to try to avoid what destiny has ordained.

intransitive verb

: to issue an order

so the gods have ordained

—

ordainer

noun

—

ordainment

play \ȯr-ˈdān-mənt\ noun

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Examples of ordain in a Sentence

She is an ordained minister.
The process was ordained by law.

Recent Examples of ordain from the Web

Edward Kuyper, the bride’s brother-in-law who became ordained by the Church of the Latter-Day Dude, officiated.

— New York Times, "Morgan Cummings, O’Neal Gray," 13 May 2018
McGann, who grew up in Woburn, was ordained in 1949.

— emily sweeney, BostonGlobe.com, "Age hasn’t diminished the spirit of these senior priests," 12 May 2018
Kim Hak-song was also ordained as an evangelical Christian pastor affiliated with the Oriental Mission Church in Los Angeles, which could have presented problems in the atheist country.

— joshua berlinger, CNN, "These are the three Americans released by North Korea," 9 May 2018
What had long been a dingy white wall overgrown with weeds, is now ordained with a splash of yellow, covered with blossoming flowers and a flapping gray bird.

— ryan gillespie, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Orlando policy tweak could splash new murals on neglected buildings," 29 Apr. 2018
Father Henry Wertin was ordained in 2016 in Pueblo, Colo., 12 years after the death of his wife in a car accident.

— clara hatcher, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Father, son follow different paths, same calling to become Catholic priests," 30 Mar. 2018
TODD SUMLIN Williams also had been ordained in 1996.

— david scott, charlotteobserver, "Charlotte 49ers basketball great Henry Williams dies | Charlotte Observer," 14 Mar. 2018
Before becoming a Catholic priest in Houston, Texas, in June 2016, Reese had been ordained as an Anglican priest, according to the Archdiocese of Indianapolis.

— jared gilmour, miamiherald, "‘A priest and you beat her?’ Vicar hit wife at church, told her to ‘confess’ cheating, Indiana police say | Miami Herald," 27 Feb. 2018
Leadership can only be ordained if the people know their votes counted.

— Anchorage Daily News, "The Olympics take Russian cheating seriously. Why doesn’t the U.S. government?," 25 Feb. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'ordain.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of ordain

Middle English ordeinen, from Anglo-French ordener, ordeiner, from Late Latin ordinare, from Latin, to put in order, appoint, from ordin-, ordo order

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

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