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
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
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Her subsequent eviction from the Beguines leads to her accepting the Bishop’s offer of sanctuary—as an anchorite, destined to live out her days in a tiny stone outcropping.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
5 Feb. 2026
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France's High Commission in French Polynesia The prosecutor's office did not bring charges so as not to burden the local court with a case of drug trafficking not destined for French Polynesia itself.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
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There is nothing divinely ordained here.—
Carter Dougherty,
Mercury News,
7 Feb. 2026
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Hicks was ordained as a priest May 21, 1994, in the Archdiocese of Chicago.—
Rachel Wolf,
FOXNews.com,
7 Feb. 2026
Verb
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If a leader can’t communicate, he’s doomed right off the bat.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
15 Feb. 2026
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Saturn’s entrance to Aries emphasizes where bonds are capable of building, or doomed to break.—
USA TODAY,
USA Today,
13 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Whatever happens after that is up to fate and the basketball gods.—
Jason Lloyd,
New York Times,
6 Feb. 2026
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The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett Born in the small town of Mallard, Louisiana, a set of identical twins are fated for opposite lives.—
Amanda Favazza,
Southern Living,
6 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Foreordain.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/foreordain. Accessed 18 Feb. 2026.
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