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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The Blues can also free up the requested cap space, if needed, with Torey Krug destined for LTIR.—
James Mirtle,
New York Times,
2 June 2025
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Isole e Olena has 103 acres of vines located at 1150 to 1640 feet above sea level, but grapes from less than one quarter of those are destined for this Super Tuscan bottling.—
Mike DeSimone,
Robb Report,
30 May 2025
Verb
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One of the stars, Craig Wallace, has been ordained.—
Alexis Soloski,
New York Times,
19 May 2025
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Married men can be ordained as deacons while women cannot, although historians say women served as deacons in the early Christian church.—
Nicole Winfield,
Chicago Tribune,
15 May 2025
Verb
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Throughout last season, when the Chiefs were attempting to become the NFL’s first three-peat champion in the Super Bowl era, everyone in the city — players, fans and employees of the team — had to start contemplating if Arrowhead’s future was doomed.—
Nate Taylor,
New York Times,
30 May 2025
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Either of these is enough to doom Democrats’ already-tenuous chance at the Governor’s Mansion.—
South Florida Sun Sentinel,
Sun Sentinel,
29 May 2025
Verb
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Unlike the characters marked for death in a Final Destination film, this sixth installment in the franchise just felt fated to live, overcoming obstacle after obstacle that might have killed other movies.—
Aaron Couch,
HollywoodReporter,
20 May 2025
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Perhaps this show, too, is a dream—one from which we are fated to wake sooner, rather than later.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
18 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Foreordain.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/foreordain. Accessed 5 Jun. 2025.
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