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
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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
The Russian invasion of Ukraine, in February, 2022, was no more inevitable or foreordained than the U.S. invasion of Iraq, in 2003.
—Keith Gessen, The New Yorker, 12 June 2023
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
This is hardly foreordained, especially if the U.S. reasserts itself on the global stage and rallies like-minded nations against the revisionists.
—The Editorial Board, WSJ, 18 Dec. 2017
Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 7 Oct. 2024
The Russian invasion of Ukraine, in February, 2022, was no more inevitable or foreordained than the U.S. invasion of Iraq, in 2003.
—Keith Gessen, The New Yorker, 12 June 2023
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
This is hardly foreordained, especially if the U.S. reasserts itself on the global stage and rallies like-minded nations against the revisionists.
—The Editorial Board, WSJ, 18 Dec. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for foreordain
Verb
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Everything’s Going to Be Great suggests that all of this is destined to become fodder, someday, for Les’ brilliant creative career.—
Angie Han,
HollywoodReporter,
13 June 2025
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They were led nonetheless by an exceptional cadre of junior officers, thirty of whom would become generals, including eighteen destined to be full generals, the army's highest rank.—
/ CBS News,
CBS News,
13 June 2025
Verb
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Born in Dover, Delaware, Hutchins began preaching at just 8 years old and was ordained by age 12.—
Martha McHardy,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 June 2025
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Image In addition to learning his lines, Wallace became ordained via an online application approved by the District of Columbia.—
Alexis Soloski,
New York Times,
19 May 2025
Verb
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However, military failures and poor decisions by both Nicholas and Alexandra, who was overseeing domestic affairs while her husband led the war effort, ultimately doomed the Romanov dynasty.—
Meilan Solly,
Smithsonian Magazine,
13 June 2025
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But by then, consoles were already taking over gaming, and the Backyard series failed to keep up, doomed in part by the dot-com bubble bursting.—
Jacob Feldman,
Sportico.com,
12 June 2025
Verb
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One saga examined closely by Olley as part of the research told the story of a fetus, still in his mother's womb, who ends up fated to avenge his father, being inscribed even before birth into complex social and political dynamics of kinship, feuds and violence.—
Jack Beresford,
MSNBC Newsweek,
14 May 2025
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Venus’ alignment with Neptune makes a love affair seem fated.—
USA TODAY,
USA Today,
2 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Foreordain.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/foreordain. Accessed 17 Jun. 2025.
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