predetermination

noun

Definition of predeterminationnext
as in theory

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

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
  • Several theories involving collective electronic interactions remain possible.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 5 Sep. 2026
  • This means Bitcoin’s next bear market bottom could be some time in November, four years after the last bear market bottom in November 2022, if the theory holds true, according to Fidelity’s fourth quarter crypto market outlook.
    — Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez, Fortune, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of theory
Noun
  • Clancy was tried in a Massachusetts court of law, one of the few venues where defendants such as Clancy enjoy the presumption of proof for pleas of insanity, once they are allowed to make such a plea.
    — Richard E. Vatz, Baltimore Sun, 6 Sep. 2026
  • Without the presumption, service members would need to undergo the process of proving their service caused their condition.
    — Karissa Waddick, USA Today, 6 Sep. 2026
Definition of presumption
Noun
  • There’s an assumption that the second half is Shakespeare’s, but scholars continue to quarrel over attribution.
    — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 5 Sep. 2026
  • While Gaetz and Pizzo have fought for the family’s reunification, some of Zuraff’s family members have spoken out and said lawmakers are making assumptions about the case without knowing the full circumstances.
    — Romy Ellenbogen Herald, Miami Herald, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of assumption
Noun
  • But by Friday evening, when Elsinore had its world premiere in Telluride, I was forced to revise my hypothesis.
    — Scott Feinberg, HollywoodReporter, 5 Sep. 2026
  • Moran plans to put that hypothesis to the test in about a month in a clinical trial for patients with colorectal, breast, and head and neck cancers who are undergoing chemotherapy.
    — Jackie Flynn Mogensen, Scientific American, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of hypothesis
Noun
  • That conjecture could be broken down into two separate problems.
    — Leila Sloman, Quanta Magazine, 31 Aug. 2026
  • The American public distrusts its legal institutions and media outlets, creating a vacuum in which wild conjecture can bloom.
    — Jessica Winter, New Yorker, 22 Aug. 2026
Definition of conjecture
Noun
  • The development provokes a leadership shake-up on both committees, prompting speculation on who will fill the spots when the next Congress opens in January.
    — Emily Hallas, The Washington Examiner, 10 Sep. 2026
  • Some smartphone makers have been offering foldable phones for the better part of a decade, but Apple has now joined the fray with the iPhone Duo after years of speculation.
    — Ryan Whitwam, ArsTechnica, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of speculation
Noun
  • In 2013, a painting that had originally sold for $10,000 at his thesis exhibition sold for $389,000 at a Phillips auction.
    — Sameen Chaudhry, USA Today, 9 Sep. 2026
  • Bullish thesis Zoom is meaningfully more profitable at a discount.
    — Tony Zhang, CNBC, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of thesis
Noun
  • Many are leaning into their own unsubstantiated suppositions, even those not backed by evidence.
    — Rebekah Riess, CNN Money, 22 Aug. 2026
  • Recent actions by the FCC have called that supposition into question.
    — Jim Fisher, PC Magazine, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of supposition

Browse Nearby Words

predestining
predetermination
predeterminations
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Predetermination.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/predetermination. Accessed 12 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of hobnob

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
funny guinea pig in glasses reading a book
Challenging Words You Should Know Vol 2 Words to the wise
See All