as in theory
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Recent Examples of predetermination
The presiding judge granted Sweeney's attorney's request to change the charge to second-degree murder or manslaughter as the court lacked sufficient evidence to try him for first-degree murder since predetermination was not established.
—
Rebecca Aizin, PEOPLE, 30 Oct. 2025
He was also accused of failing to respect and comply with the law by denying due process to litigants and lawyers and demonstrating a bias or predetermination for certain cases.
—Greg Wehner, FOXNews.com, 14 May 2025
From there we’re introduced to the Time Variance Authority where Loki is taken for messing with predetermination—a strict timeline set up by the powerful and mysterious Time Keepers—and introduced to Agent Mobius (Owen Wilson).
—Erik Kain, Forbes, 8 June 2021
Both seasons of The Umbrella Academy raise questions about the nature of time travel (as presented in the series) and the tension between choice and predetermination.
—Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 3 Aug. 2020
There is comfort in subsuming your sense of individuality to a larger sentiment of prescription and predetermination.
—Jia Tolentino, The New Yorker, 1 Nov. 2019
Yet the movie has a mythic thrust that’s partly due to its almost playful manipulation of time, its silent flash-forwards lending the story a feeling of futility and predetermination.
—Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times, 5 Apr. 2018
Rebecca Aizin, PEOPLE, 30 Oct. 2025
He was also accused of failing to respect and comply with the law by denying due process to litigants and lawyers and demonstrating a bias or predetermination for certain cases.
—Greg Wehner, FOXNews.com, 14 May 2025
From there we’re introduced to the Time Variance Authority where Loki is taken for messing with predetermination—a strict timeline set up by the powerful and mysterious Time Keepers—and introduced to Agent Mobius (Owen Wilson).
—Erik Kain, Forbes, 8 June 2021
Both seasons of The Umbrella Academy raise questions about the nature of time travel (as presented in the series) and the tension between choice and predetermination.
—Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 3 Aug. 2020
There is comfort in subsuming your sense of individuality to a larger sentiment of prescription and predetermination.
—Jia Tolentino, The New Yorker, 1 Nov. 2019
Yet the movie has a mythic thrust that’s partly due to its almost playful manipulation of time, its silent flash-forwards lending the story a feeling of futility and predetermination.
—Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times, 5 Apr. 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for predetermination
Noun
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The exact reason why is debated by scientists, but theories include a huge collision in early Martian history, or unstable mantle plumes.—
Tom Brown,
Space.com,
25 May 2026
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Because orbital data centers, in theory, require huge amounts of infrastructure like giant solar arrays, to be launched into space, the V3’s upgraded carrying capacity is essential.—
Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez,
Fortune,
24 May 2026
Noun
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In the Friday ruling, Crenshaw wrote that the timing of the charges was central to the presumption of vindictiveness.—
Travis Loller,
Los Angeles Times,
22 May 2026
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What changes under the OCC rule The rebuttable presumption inverts the burden of proof.—
Zennon Kapron,
Forbes.com,
20 May 2026
Noun
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Over time, this weakens their ability to challenge assumptions, spot anomalies, or even recognize when something is wrong.—
Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic,
Forbes.com,
27 May 2026
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When trust becomes local and familiar, someone needs to be tracking where confidence is falling apart, where geopolitical shifts are creating new exposure, and where old assumptions about what a brand can say or do no longer apply.—
Jonathan Jordan,
Fortune,
27 May 2026
Noun
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If more evidence shows GLP-1 drugs are found to reduce the chance of cancer progressing, the researchers also want to figure out why and have many possible hypotheses at the moment, including the drug changing the immune system, acting directly on tumor cells and reducing inflammation.—
Victoria Forster,
Forbes.com,
25 May 2026
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Older children might like setting up an experiment by altering the balance of something essential, like water, for different plants and making hypotheses about what the right balance is.—
Jamie Siebrase,
Denver Post,
20 May 2026
Noun
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Specifically, OpenAI said in an announcement published on its website that its models disproved a central conjecture in an area of discrete geometry tied to Paul Erdős’s planar unit distance problem, a famously stubborn question first posed in 1946.—
Ron Schmelzer,
Forbes.com,
22 May 2026
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The recent exit of Karren Brady after 16 years as West Ham’s vice chair has invited conjecture over the club’s long-term ownership plans but, for now, an increasingly unpopular regime led by Sullivan has shown little indication that another era will come to an end with relegation.—
Philip Buckingham,
New York Times,
21 May 2026
Noun
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So unbound by realism, speculation became my portal.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
29 May 2026
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All of this comes after speculation about what prenup Swift and her soon-to-be-husband, Travis Kelce, could sign has started swirling.—
Lizzie Lanuza,
StyleCaster,
28 May 2026
Noun
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That investment thesis depends on proximity.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
29 May 2026
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My thesis this week for a bearish-to-bullish reversal rested on the idea that ZS had been unfairly punished and that the 50-day moving average was turning positive.—
Michael Khouw,
CNBC,
28 May 2026
Noun
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What becomes alarmingly evident through the key assumptions check is how many of the current responses expect a quick resolution of the conflict — a supposition that is unsound, or at least unsupported.—
Judd Devermont,
semafor.com,
27 Apr. 2026
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Zlotnikov wrote that the condition was likely caused by a mutation that had occurred very early in embryonic development, a supposition that was confirmed decades later by genetic analysis.—
Jerome Groopman,
New Yorker,
6 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Predetermination.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/predetermination. Accessed 31 May. 2026.
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