predetermination

noun

Definition of predeterminationnext
as in theory

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for predetermination
  1. theory
  2. presumption
  3. assumption
  4. hypothesis
  5. conjecture
  6. speculation
  7. thesis
  8. supposition
Noun
  • Quanta spoke with Cao about evidence for the programmed theory of aging, what happens at each stage, and why aging mammals are like trees shedding leaves.
    — Ingrid Wickelgren, Quanta Magazine, 14 Aug. 2026
  • The sheriff's office also sought to rebut theories that had circulated publicly about the case, including claims that evidence was missing or the crime scene had been manipulated.
    — Zachary Bynum, CBS News, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of theory
Noun
  • Mungiu refuses to supply easy answers or simple paths to identification in this compelling provocation, which poses unresolvable questions to viewers about our biases and presumptions.
    — Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 11 Aug. 2026
  • The defense motion filed Friday acknowledges there is a presumption against bond in extradition proceedings but argues that release can be granted in special circumstances.
    — David Fischer, Los Angeles Times, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of presumption
Noun
  • Preconceptions, assumptions, and advance knowledge in the viewing public are regarded as impediments to the capacity of the tale to surprise, startle, or transport.
    — Peter Tonguette, The Washington Examiner, 15 Aug. 2026
  • Computer models often use assumptions to manage complex atomic calculations.
    — Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 15 Aug. 2026
Definition of assumption
Noun
  • British astronomer Arthur Eddington knew that, under Einstein’s hypothesis, the sun should bend the light of other stars.
    — Adam Kovac, Scientific American, 11 Aug. 2026
  • Eusebius of Caesarea, who attended the First Council of Nicaea, described the meeting as taking place in a small church — a detail that Şahin said supports his hypothesis.
    — Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of hypothesis
Noun
  • Proving this conjecture would show that waves experiencing chaos move in ways that look surprising and random at small scales but are simple at the macroscopic level.
    — Shalma Wegsman, Quanta Magazine, 12 Aug. 2026
  • The discovery matched a conjecture that Erdős and Szekeres had put forth as young men.
    — Jack Murtagh, Scientific American, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of conjecture
Noun
  • The Netherlands international only moved to the Etihad Stadium a year ago but his future is the subject of speculation following the arrival of Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest earlier this summer.
    — David Ornstein, New York Times, 13 Aug. 2026
  • As engagement-farming social-media accounts like Pop Base and celebrity-gossip accounts such as Deuxmoi still post frequent updates of celebrity sightings and speculation, the type of blanketing gossip press that Hilton introduced now spares no one.
    — Brady Brickner-Wood, New Yorker, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of speculation
Noun
  • The problem was that thesis got derailed by a temporary loss of momentum in AI stocks – and that derailment was magnified by leverage, which magnifies both gains and losses.
    — Matt Egan, CNN Money, 13 Aug. 2026
  • The result became Cohen’s thesis and earned him an assistant professorship at New York University at the age of 25.
    — Shalma Wegsman, Quanta Magazine, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of thesis
Noun
  • Recent actions by the FCC have called that supposition into question.
    — Jim Fisher, PC Magazine, 10 Aug. 2026
  • Now Kennedy took her suppositions even further, reexamining the literature on a famous Olmec site where thousands of toad skeletons had been excavated.
    — Kimon de Greef, Longreads, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of supposition

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predestining
predetermination
predeterminations
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Cite this Entry

“Predetermination.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/predetermination. Accessed 18 Aug. 2026.

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