as in to destine
to determine the fate of in advance
we are such good friends, it's almost like we were foreordained to meet
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of foreordain
Wagner commented that in opera the orchestra should act as a medium of premonition, indicating what is foreordained but not yet foreseen.
—
Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 7 Oct. 2024
Before anything else is said about Lana Del Rey’s new album, let it be noted that however well the record came out, it was foreordained to come in second among her artistic works of the past year.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 24 Mar. 2023
Pelosi is more than happy for additional evidence to be disclosed and for the Senate to call witnesses, even after the House has impeached and when the resolution of the trial is foreordained.
—Matthew Continetti, National Review, 17 Jan. 2020
The outcome was not foreordained, for either Bork or Mr. Biden.
—Alexander Burns, New York Times, 7 Sep. 2019
The 41st president, who couldn’t always get his sentences straight, wasn’t foreordained for history’s hall of fame.
—Josef Joffe, WSJ, 3 Dec. 2018
Aster piles on the personal confrontations and emotional breakdowns, but compounds them with unnerving new hauntings, all the way up to an ending that feels foreordained, but still shattering.
—Tasha Robinson, The Verge, 8 June 2018
Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 7 Oct. 2024
Before anything else is said about Lana Del Rey’s new album, let it be noted that however well the record came out, it was foreordained to come in second among her artistic works of the past year.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 24 Mar. 2023
Pelosi is more than happy for additional evidence to be disclosed and for the Senate to call witnesses, even after the House has impeached and when the resolution of the trial is foreordained.
—Matthew Continetti, National Review, 17 Jan. 2020
The outcome was not foreordained, for either Bork or Mr. Biden.
—Alexander Burns, New York Times, 7 Sep. 2019
The 41st president, who couldn’t always get his sentences straight, wasn’t foreordained for history’s hall of fame.
—Josef Joffe, WSJ, 3 Dec. 2018
Aster piles on the personal confrontations and emotional breakdowns, but compounds them with unnerving new hauntings, all the way up to an ending that feels foreordained, but still shattering.
—Tasha Robinson, The Verge, 8 June 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for foreordain
Verb
-
Earlier this month, several outlets covered how garments destined for brands were piling up at airports in Bangladesh and India after Gulf carriers cancelled flights, with more than half of Bangladesh’s air cargo typically moving through Gulf hubs.—
Assef Shaikh,
Footwear News,
2 Apr. 2026
-
The site is being divided into several parcels, one destined for a Yokohama-like building with an attached hotel, another for housing, a third for shipping perishable freight.—
Justin Davidson,
Curbed,
1 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Cook, ordained in the United Church of Christ, is principal of Faith in the Public Square.—
Peter Cook,
New York Daily News,
3 Apr. 2026
-
The first woman to become an Anglican priest was Florence Li Tim-Oi of Hong Kong, who was ordained in Zhaoqing, China, in 1944.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
31 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Is Trump citizenship order doomed?—
Phillip M. Bailey,
USA Today,
3 Apr. 2026
-
Perhaps the international biennial is not doomed to fade away like the art of the medieval troubadour or the magic-lantern show.—
Daniel Birnbaum,
Artforum,
2 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Landscape painters, lithographers, and photographers introduced Easterners to the Romantic West of sublime landscapes filled with tow-ering peaks and deep canyons and Indians who seemed to exist only in small numbers, fated to disappear as American pioneers swept westward.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
1 Apr. 2026
-
Elsewhere, the Dolphins are engaged in a full-on tank, and the Jets are the Jets, fated for failure until further notice.—
Andrew Callahan,
Boston Herald,
29 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Foreordain.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/foreordain. Accessed 7 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
