1
as in destines
to determine the fate of in advance
he is stoic in the face of adversity, bolstered by his faith that everything in life has been ordained by a higher power
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in orders
to request the doing of by virtue of one's authority
a new bill that would ordain the funding of public schools through state lottery revenues
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in enacts
to put into effect through legislative or authoritative action
the founders of the African republic ordained a form of government that was closely modeled on that of the United States
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ordains
Verb
-
Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring, supreme commander of the Luftwaffe, Hitler’s second in command, and the highest-ranking surviving Nazi leader, steps out of the car, stands at attention to announce his surrender, and orders the soldiers to carry his bags.—
Alice Kaplan,
The New York Review of Books,
4 Apr. 2026 -
Although the decision orders a re-sentencing, there's a chance Peters will be handed the same sentence again.—
Chierstin Roth,
CBS News,
3 Apr. 2026
Verb
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In this light, the death penalty becomes not merely a tool of criminal justice but a declaration of supremacy – an instrument through which the state enacts its divine mandate.—
Arie Perliger,
The Conversation,
7 Apr. 2026
-
The siting of the rites at the Colosseum—where it has been held since 1964, echoing a practice from the eighteenth century—means that the Pope enacts Jesus’ final hours not in a Baroque basilica but against the backdrop of the Roman Empire, which exercised power through violence.—
Paul Elie,
New Yorker,
4 Apr. 2026
Verb
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This leads to the fracture in Catherine and Heathcliff's relationship that dooms them all to ruin.—
Megan McCluskey,
Time,
13 Feb. 2026
-
Without that sense of desperate loneliness, what dooms Frankenstein and the Creature to their deaths?—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
14 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Under the Clean Air Act, which dictates timelines for the Title V air permit renewals, the state health department should have completed it by October 2023.—
Noelle Phillips,
Denver Post,
9 Apr. 2026
-
Today’s Baroque version is popular for weddings, even if tradition dictates that the groom carries the bride up the 99 steps leading from the boat dock to the church door.—
Tribune Content Agency,
Baltimore Sun,
8 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Of particular concern is the Strait of Hormuz, the crucial waterway off Iran, where more than 20% of the world's oil supply normally passes.—
Steve Kopack,
NBC news,
19 Apr. 2026
-
Roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil trade normally passes through the strait, and the global energy crisis threatened to deepen as the war is now in its eighth week.—
Michelle L. Price,
Fortune,
19 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Cleary said a separate organization pays for fencing if a firehouse requests extra security.—
Shardaa Gray,
CBS News,
10 Apr. 2026
-
Jamie requests an audience with the families and revokes their letters of banishment.—
Lincee Ray,
Entertainment Weekly,
10 Apr. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Ordains.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ordains. Accessed 21 Apr. 2026.
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