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
-
For a lender, the practical question is not whether the theory still exists.—
Dara-Abasi Ita,
Forbes.com,
14 June 2026
-
If that theory still holds, putative 2028 Democratic candidate Rahm Emanuel has an early advantage — in the bike lane.—
Naomi Lim,
The Washington Examiner,
13 June 2026
Noun
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The presumption of innocence remains fully intact.—
Jordan Freiman,
CBS News,
16 June 2026
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The trouble is not TMI but TLI Another falsehood standing in the way of feeling loved is the presumption that asking questions will seem nosy.—
Jessica DuLong,
CNN Money,
16 June 2026
Noun
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But this case shows that assumption can fall apart fast.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
17 June 2026
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Since life-cycle assessments are sensitive to assumptions and contextual factors, the data is intended as a proxy for identifying supply chain pressure points rather than as a benchmarking tool.—
Jasmin Malik Chua,
Footwear News,
17 June 2026
Noun
-
The memory consolidation hypothesis holds that sleep talking may be a byproduct, or even a signal, of the brain’s nightly memory processing.—
Scott Travers,
Forbes.com,
14 June 2026
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One answer is the Rare Earth hypothesis, which theorizes that our planet really is special.—
Emma Gometz,
Scientific American,
12 June 2026
Noun
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An OpenAI reasoning model recently overturned a conjecture Paul Erdős posed in 1946, toppling an eighty-year assumption in combinatorial geometry by importing machinery from algebraic number theory — two fields with no obvious reason to meet.—
Christian Catalini,
Forbes.com,
11 June 2026
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But that’s just conjecture, of course.—
R. Eric Thomas,
Mercury News,
9 June 2026
Noun
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Taylor Swift’s appearance at Madison Square Garden Wednesday night, to cheer on a victorious New York Knicks in Game 4 of the NBA Finals, immediately amplified speculation that the pop superstar will soon use the famous Midtown Manhattan arena as the site for her wedding to Travis Kelce.—
Martha Ross,
Mercury News,
11 June 2026
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This comes after months of speculation about a rift between Swift and the couple, who haven’t been seen together since February 2024.—
Lizzie Lanuza,
StyleCaster,
11 June 2026
Noun
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The investment thesis here is not that any single space company, including SpaceX, will necessarily dominate the next era.—
Nigel Morris,
Forbes.com,
12 June 2026
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The gauziness of the thesis here is matched by the generality of the characters and their lives.—
Guy Lodge,
Variety,
12 June 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 19 Jun. 2026.
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